question for people who jog/run

[QueBert]

I'm 35 5'11 210'ish lbs, started to jog and work towards running. Saturday night I walked some and jogged a little, I had some protein when I was done and drank some gatorade. When I woke up the next morning the upper front parts of my thighs felt very tight. Last night I mostly walked, my question is what kind of goals would be realistic for me here? Saturday night I ran .12 miles and was beat, so I know I'm really out of shape. If I jog 4 times a weeks how long should I be shooting for to be able to jog a mile without stopping? I don't want to get down on myself for not making enough progress by expecting results too quick. I should probably add I haven't jogged in uhhhhh a long time lol. I think 5k is my ultimate goal, but starting with 1 mile is all I'm focused on right now. Was thinking maybe a noob runner who recently hit 1 mile or an old school runner who remembers can tell me how long it took them. I know everybody's different but it could at least give me an idea of what I should be going for.

 

[ichy]

I had a similar thing happen to me when I started running again. The best advice I can give is to alternate with other forms of cardio. Bike or workout on an elliptical machine on days when you're hurting.

Edit: Again, this is just what I did and a professional trainer might know better, but I found that doing some other form of cardio initially was the best way for me to get back into running. An elliptical machine is a worthless way to train for a race, but it does get you sweating and gets your heart rate up. Improving your conditioning that way should at least help you get to the point where you can jog a few kilometers without too much trouble. I spent a couple months using one of those and biking before I started running at all, so I was able to do 5 kilometers off the bat. It wasn't fun, but not awfully challenging either.

Oh yeah, go jogging in an area where there's lots of pretty women out exercising. Best motivation ever.

 

[ZOOYUKA]

Give the c25k program a shot. It is a great interval program.

 

[darkxshade]

baby steps, just don't give up... that's all I can contribute. I'll leave the more advanced people here to answer your questions.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

If you can only run for 200m before stopping, don't run. At least not initially. Walking is a good way to start, but not the stroll-type walking. You have to push yourself quite hard, but if you do, then walking is actually a surprisingly good workout.

 

[WannaFly]

I'm no expert, but have a similar history:
When I started i could barely run .25 miles, I can now run 6 miles. About 8 months has passed. Intervals were key for me, as is cross training. Couch 2 5k works good, but it does seem slow sometimes, don't be afraid to repeat days/weeks. Everyones goal and pace is different - you should only set and advise your goals on how YOU feel. You ran an eighth of a mile - set a goal for a quarter. Are you on the treadmill? What speed? 5.0 was a good speed for me when starting, even though its barely a jog.

Rest days were important - I still cant run two days in a row.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Give the c25k program a shot. It is a great interval program.

Technically, yes, it is an interval program...more specifically it's a walk/run program.

The program allows you to stress your muscles and cardiovascular system incrementally, while allowing enough rest and recovery time for adaptation to occur. When you attempt too much too soon (as you've discovered), you get overly sore and take much longer to recover.

The goal is to be able to run 30 minutes continuously, 3 times per week, by the end of the program. Once you can achieve that, you can gradually add more sessions or more time per session.

This is also the same type of program that many runners use when returning to running after rehabilitating from an injury.

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

The program takes 9 weeks to complete, and you should stretch after each session to minimize muscle soreness.

Good luck, and feel free to post questions.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

The program takes 9 weeks to complete, and you should stretch after each session to minimize muscle soreness./QUOTE]

I agree that he should stretch, but stretching only worsens muscle soreness. It improves flexibility and reduces likelihood of recovery, but it does stress the tendons, muscles, and ligaments and initiates repair mechanisms. It does more damage and can actually make people more sore... so yes, he should stretch. No, he shouldn't stretch specifically to reduce soreness.

 

[QueBert]

If you can only run for 200m before stopping, don't run. At least not initially. Walking is a good way to start, but not the stroll-type walking. You have to push yourself quite hard, but if you do, then walking is actually a surprisingly good workout.

I'll just be power walking for the time being with some jogging mixed in. The run was sort of a test and also to Calibrate my Nike +. I'm not sure how fast is considered fast for power walking but I set a goal of 3 miles in 45 minutes for this week. Seems like a good starting point

 

[Megatomic]

QueBert, I was in even worse shape when I started. I was so fat I couldn't run at all, all I could do was walk. As I lost weight I was able to walk faster. Then I got to where you are, being able to run a fraction of a mile at a time. All I can say is be persistent, consistent, patient, and dedicated. Unless you have a specific race in mind you don't have any timeline to follow, take your time and stay healthy.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

The program takes 9 weeks to complete, and you should stretch after each session to minimize muscle soreness.

I agree that he should stretch, but stretching only worsens muscle soreness. It improves flexibility and reduces likelihood of recovery, but it does stress the tendons, muscles, and ligaments and initiates repair mechanisms. It does more damage and can actually make people more sore... so yes, he should stretch. No, he shouldn't stretch specifically to reduce soreness.

Oops. Ok...thanks for the clarification.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

I'll just be power walking for the time being with some jogging mixed in. The run was sort of a test and also to Calibrate my Nike +. I'm not sure how fast is considered fast for power walking but I set a goal of 3 miles in 45 minutes for this week. Seems like a good starting point

If you can walk pretty much indefinitely without getting out of breath, fast means you start sweating after 5 or 10 minutes.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Oops. Ok...thanks for the clarification.

Not a problem 🙂 I was taught that stretching helped recovery all my life from coaches, but am now finding out that they don't know their mechanical properties of tissues. It's a big deal to me because I stretched when I had rhabdomyolysis and it made the pain WAY, WAY worse. I thought, because of that, it was important enough to mention.

 

[Capt Caveman]

If jogging just .12 of a mile is beating you up. I would start building up your cardio and endurance by increasing the amount of power/fast walking that you are currently doing. Once, you've worked yourself up to power/fast walking several miles would I start walking/jogging.

OP, in conjunction with exercise, stop eating so much fastfood.

 

[QueBert]

Not a problem 🙂 I was taught that stretching helped recovery all my life from coaches, but am now finding out that they don't know their mechanical properties of tissues. It's a big deal to me because I stretched when I had rhabdomyolysis and it made the pain WAY, WAY worse. I thought, because of that, it was important enough to mention.

So basically I need to stretch but it will make the pain more intense? LOL working out really is torture.

Well no pain no gain is what they say. One more question for anyone reading this thread, I know to not run every day, but would doing a few miles of light walking on the days I don't run help the soreness at all? When I woke up this morning my thighs were pretty tight but I walked around my neighborhood once and they seemed to feel a bit better. Dunno if that just in my head though?

 

[brikis98]

Well no pain no gain is what they say. One more question for anyone reading this thread, I know to not run every day, but would doing a few miles of light walking on the days I don't run help the soreness at all? When I woke up this morning my thighs were pretty tight but I walked around my neighborhood once and they seemed to feel a bit better. Dunno if that just in my head though?

Active recovery definitely helps. That is, some VERY light exercise that gets lots of blood to flow through the sore muscles can loosen everything up and reduce soreness. Of course, exactly what is "light" depends on the person: if you struggle to run a mile, then light will be a brief walk. If you can run 10 miles at high speed, then a 3 mile jog might be considered active recovery.

 

[QueBert]

Active recovery definitely helps. That is, some VERY light exercise that gets lots of blood to flow through the sore muscles can loosen everything up and reduce soreness. Of course, exactly what is "light" depends on the person: if you struggle to run a mile, then light will be a brief walk. If you can run 10 miles at high speed, then a 3 mile jog might be considered active recovery.

thanks for the info, by light I mean a slow walk around my neighborhood once, which is about I dunno .75 miles, real slow. Once I can run 5 miles I'll step my "light" up to a jog around the block 🙂

 

[QueBert]

WOW I'm more out of shape that I thought, I put on my running shoes and just headed out to do the 5k challenge thing, and before the 5 minute power walk portion was up my shins were already hurting. I jogged for 60 and walked 90 and jogged 1 last time and gave up. If I had went the whole 20 minutes I wouldn't be able to walk lol. I even did all the recommended stretching before I started. Magatomic how long did it take you to adjust?


Damn in my head this was going to be so smooth ughs.

 

[darkxshade]

I know how you feel. At some point, it helps to be able to determine if it's just lack of mental willpower or physical fatigue. You're never going to be able to seriously run for long bouts at moderate-high intensities and not feel a thing. As a beginner, this feeling is somewhat foreign to you and you give up easily because it's an uncomfortable feeling but eventually you need to push yourself harder and little by little you will notice improvements. I'm not saying that you gave up too soon since you know yourself better than I do but no one said it would be easy.

I can't count how many times I tell myself I'm too tired to go on, that I should just stop and call it a day. Most times, I push through the "pain" and finish what I've started or set out to do because I've done it before and I can do it again. So use this as your baseline and each time you run, try to do better than the last. It's not about adjusting imo, it's about adapting.

 

[alkemyst]

do run/walk and also make sure your shoes are right for your gait.

I am a supinator and have high arches...if I run in the wrong shoes I can't run that fast and I get pain during the run and the next day.

With the right shoes I am pain-free save the DOMS that you'd always get starting / restarting a program.

 

[Megatomic]

Magatomic how long did it take you to adjust?


Damn in my head this was going to be so smooth ughs.

Quite a while. I got a job as a power plant operator so I was on my feet for 12 hours a day. On top of that I was walking on my off time, then jog/walking, and finally jogging. This was back in 2006 and if my memory serves me it took about a year.

You have got to be patient QueBert. You didn't get out of shape quickly and you are not going to get into shape any quicker. Sorry to be blunt and mean but it is the truth. The results are well worth it though, I am SOOOO glad I stuck it out then and continue to do so now.

 

[anandtech2010]

do some sprint work and dump the sugar based laterade. have someone pace you in a car or on a bicycle. get a pair of running shoes not converse or vans.

 

[QueBert]

Quite a while. I got a job as a power plant operator so I was on my feet for 12 hours a day. On top of that I was walking on my off time, then jog/walking, and finally jogging. This was back in 2006 and if my memory serves me it took about a year.

You have got to be patient QueBert. You didn't get out of shape quickly and you are not going to get into shape any quicker. Sorry to be blunt and mean but it is the truth. The results are well worth it though, I am SOOOO glad I stuck it out then and continue to do so now.

Well I expected to poop out before the 20 minutes was up, but I didn't expect my shins to start killing me like that after 4 minutes of power walking lol. I thought for sure the reason I'd want to stop was me being tired, but I was at 99% energy. I ended up going back out about an hour later and trying again. Made it about 1 minute further this time, woke up today with no soreness in my thighs and my shins are fine. Still going to take a day off because 2 night in a row of that will probably do me in.



@ alkemyst I'm thinking about getting some Nike+ Lunar Elite's, they claim adjust to your feet regardless of how you run. I really don't know if I pronate or overpronate or run neutral.

 

[ZOOYUKA]

@ alkemyst I'm thinking about getting some Nike+ Lunar Elite's, they claim adjust to your feet regardless of how you run. I really don't know if I pronate or overpronate or run neutral.

Or you could go to a running store and get properly fitted for a pair of shoes.

 

[QueBert]

Or you could go to a running store and get properly fitted for a pair of shoes.

The closest one I can find is almost 100 miles away, I'm sure there's some in LA but I'm not sure what to look for. There's definitely no Fleet Foot anywhere close and that's the only high end running shoe store I know about. I found a couple in San Diego but that's one hellova drive to get some shoes.