I go to cannons 6 days a week for a couple of hours ish each session. I've been trying to get my running up as much as possible before I go back to my AFCO (went there for a training session just after passing my PJFT and was lagging behind A LOT compared to the other 3 lads who done the training session with me) hasn't knocked me motivation though. In fact it boosted it, so no worries there lads
Basically I do all my running on a treadmill as it's easiest thing as I go there to train anyway. Is this a bad idea?
Finally to the point (sorry ) I am running two 6 milers a week and two 3 milers.
My current pace which literally has me hanging out by the end on a good day is 7mph for 6 miler and 8.6 for 3 miler. I was thinking of upping both at 0.2 mph each week so long as it feels comfortable. Is this realistic? Cheers for the replies!
Step away from your computer & hop on the spot. Now imagine doing that in a gym when atop a treadmill. Same situation, different environment.
Treadmills are fine and dandy for raising your heart rate but they don't develop your muscles to PUSH forwards which is what you do when you run on the earth
I'm sure other members will give a more in depth explanation and release their inner nerd (yes stokey, I mean you )
I'm sure other members will give a more in depth explanation and release their inner nerd (yes stokey, I mean you )
Spence is a bigger nerd than me!
Anyways...Nerd my arse I'm a big 'ard boxer so I am
To the original poster, definitely get out there and run on roads, the changing terrain and added elements such as wind all make it harder than any mechanical contraption ever can.
Personally I do all my running out doors, but if you have got a PJFT looming a little practice on a treadmill wont hurt. How about 1 in 5 run's on a treadmill or something like that?
You can skip to the end if you want, I went off on one a bit (posting on runners sites too often).
If you've already done your PJFT then you have no more need to perform (suitable word? I would say race but PJFT is hardly that either) on the treadmill; so I would not train on the treadmill. In running you'll adapt your training around the surfaces and distances you want to race, as you will need to work your muscles differently and have different levels and types of fitness depending on terrain and distance. If your going to be needing to run outdoors on variable grade then do so.
The distances you're training seem reasonable to me if you're aiming to run 3 miles, if you were aiming to see fast speed increases you would require at least one session a week to be shorter, a hard fast burst, but as your speed is fine over the 3 already then its important just to keep building speed over that distance. So you're training on the distance correctly, but the terrain seems to be incorrect. The conditions on a treadmill are barely comparable to conditions on the road; the grade is constantly changing, the road will not give to relieve the shock on your muscles etc. Its not all bad either the fact your moving will allow your body to moderate its temperature more effectively due to the increased airflow. Basically its different completely. As has been pointed out, unless you have the treadmill on an incline you are not required to push on a treadmill, and even then barely.
I'm boring myself now, so I'll wind up with run on the road, not the treadmill, if you are trainign for the road not the treadmill. 0.2 mph per week could be acchievable, but it might not be, it 100% depends ont he person, as long as you do do what feels 'comfortable' and don't push too far then it may be doable for you. If you do run on a treadmill stick it on a min 3% incline before doing your usual training.
Haha right well I best start planning my routes. I live in the centre of town and don't drive so getting a nice 6 mile route may be tad troublesome (I'm not so good at dodging cars )
Righteho then, just one last question. How am I supposed to know if I'm increasing my speed if I'm running on the road? If the answer is, you will feel your feet moving quicker, then that's fair enough lol just don't think I'd be able to tell. I know I could time myself and see at the end if any improvement has been made but while I'm actually doing it I won't be able to tell whether I should be speeding up or slowing down haha. Hopefully I've made myself clear
quirk wrote:Haha right well i best start planning my routes. I live in centre of town and dont drive so getting a nice 6 mile route may be tad troublesome (not so good at dodging cars )
Righteho then just 1 last question. How am I supposed to know if im increasing my speed if im running on the road. If the answer is you will feel your feet moving quicker then thats fair enough lol just dont think I'd be able to tell. I know I could time myself and see at the end if any improvement has been made but while im actually doing it i wont be able to tell whether I should be speeding up or slowing down haha hopefully made meself clear thanks for the replys
Difficult question really, its something difficult to gage is the speed when on the road. Being in the centre of town presumably theres lamp posts around, these are nicely evenly spaced if you know how far apart they are(I used to use this method but can't remember the distance) then you know roughly how long you should take to run between them. Count that out in your hed every now and then and stick to that pace in between. Some method like that is good for on the move pacing. Or you could splash the cash on a SDM monitor, but if you are planning on entering soon I doubt you'ld get your return of investment.
Use mapmyrun to get your distances, take a watch,and obviously you'll know you're running faster when you cover the same distance in less time After getting to know your routes you can even set up check points along them at certain places so you can measure sector times as well. It's worth it to buy a heart rate monitor (I got a good Nike one for cheap on ebay), and you could then use your heart rate as a measure of your progression, for example staying above a certain rate for X number of minutes (you can even set the HRM with a target heart rate zone whereby it bleeps when your HR goes over or under a specific rate you set depending on what zone you want to train in, ie:fat burning or CV fitness.
Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour'
Mapmyrun will only help you know how fast you ran, past tense, not how fast you are running. HRM gives only a vague estimation of how fast you are running, they are a great training tool, as they give a very good estiation of how hard you're working but for estimating your speed (which was the question). To measure excertion you can use your breath, PEL etc. but HRMs are cheap so if you want to make sure you are always pushing hard (and monitor you're not pushing too hard) they are a good idea.
And I suggest running route so regularly you know the split times of particular poitns is not the best way of training, but thats more personal, or though it is an often quoted fact that changing your route is as good as a rest for speed improvements. Try varying your routes as often as possible, even if its just addign slightly different loops and turns aroudn the same old streets.
I'd say that the best bet is to run a route, and note your time at certain waypoints (as mentioned above). This way you can see how your speed is every time you run that route.
For new routes, what about a pedometer? It'll let you know how many steps you've taken and how long it's taken too.
Tartan_Terrier wrote:
For new routes, what about a pedometer? It'll let you know how many steps you've taken and how long it's taken too.
Have you ever tried that? Or has anyone? I've often wondered how accurate a pedometer would be when running
Of course I have, or I wouldn't recommend it!!
I used one regularly for a few years, before I discovered www.mapmyrun.com. Over 4-6 miles on mixed terrain (tarmac, woodland, beach) I usually got a maximum of about 100 metres of error.
They may not be high tech, but they're not too bad for the money.
Sorry just read the way you said 'what about a pedometer?' as if you might not of I used them for walking distance but never when running, I had a cheap one which the clip broke and couldn't be bothered after that for anything. 100m error isn't bad, nearly as good as most of the SDMs out there for a fraction fo the price.
If you're flush with cash you can't go wrong with a garmin forerunner. I use the 301 with the heart rate monitor. It has to be the awesomest kit ever especially as you can upload and download your routes using mapmyrun.com You can pick them up using US online sites due to good exchange rate(use froogle.com to find the cheapest) and send using registered USPS postage.
Unless you are using it for a specific purpose (mountain running, marathon pacing etc.) it's probably not really necessary for everyday training though. It;s a bit excessive, Cheaper to use a map and a watch to be honest.
_chris wrote:Mapmyrun will only help you know how fast you ran, past tense, not how fast you are running. HRM gives only a vague estimation of how fast you are running,
True you dont get the actual speed you're running at the time,but personally I don't get hung up on knowing my speed as such (with regard to RT or PRMC, the Corps don't say 'you have to run X mph for X minutes, they say you have to run X miles in under X minutes).
By using MMR and doing routes regularly, I set my HRM to chrono(which also gives you a graph plotting your HR to time) to get a stopwatch and HR at the same time, remembering certain checkpoint times. For example, it's like a time trail in rally or sectors on a track in any motorsport: I remember what time I was on at what point the last time I ran,then during my run I know how fast I am relative to the last run, i.e.if im improving or not. But like you say it is good to mix your routes up varying the terrain, incline and distance etc
Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour'
) I am running two 6 milers a week and two 3 milers.
I'm a big 'ard boxer so I am 
