Ready, set, GO!
I have set out on my running journey. It started on a fluke. I was walking around a lake and just started running, and running, and running. It was enjoyable, but I have ZERO stamina. I can sprint fast… for ten seconds. Then I have to walk for a minute to catch my breath. I want to get myself to running 5 kilometers WITHOUT stopping for a walking break. I did a trial run (BUH-DUM-TSS) this morning. I can run one kilometer in six minutes and thirty seconds. However, as I run longer distances I end up slowing down A LOT.
I managed to run 2.47 km this morning in 20 minutes. This is about a 8 minute kilometer, which according to Women’s Running isn’t so bad. Women’s running likes to encourage running no matter the speed, the most important part to them is that you are getting out and enjoying running. Runner’s World explains how to be successful in making running a part of your life. Following Runner’s World’s advice I will keep the time of my runs the same, 6:30 am, and I will keep it consistent, three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. However, some research (Paavolainen et al., 1999; Buchheit & Laursen, 2013) states that it is beneficial for runners to compliment their running with moderate strength training to maximize aerobic power and what is referred to as “running economy”. Buchheit and Laursen’s review article specifically states that HIIT workouts (high intensity interval training), will both improve VO2 max and the muscle power that is required of running. To start off I will be following this video, on Tuesdays and Saturdays but I will reevaluate the usefulness of the video each week.
Now please bear with me, I am a data nerd, so I have created spreadsheet that I will be updating so I can share my improvements with you, haha! I think I can get my running pace down to 7.5 minutes a kilometer by next week though. I have included a screenshot of my run this morning, the grey line shows my running pace at around 5:45/km. I added a yellow box to point out my need to work on running uphill, as by looking at this we can see that when there’s a hill involved I slow down to about 8:45/km.
I have reached out to a couple friends of mine who have ran half marathons and have a lot of experience learning to run. I hope by next week I will have more news to report and more stats to show you!
Until then: happy running!
Buchheit, M., & Laursen, P. B. (2013). High-Intensity Interval Training, Solutions to the Programming Puzzle. Sports Medicine, 43(10), 927–954. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-013-0066-5