Running

[Clueless Morgan]

Is there anyone else on this forum who enjoys running?

I´ve been running occasionally to try to stay in shape my whole life but never with any consistensy. However, about three months ago I started running more seriously, setting goals and making a proper training schedule.

My initial two goals were to run 10 km in less than 40 min, and to run a half marathon in less than 90 min.

Two weeks ago I achieved my first goal - running 10 km in 39:52

My second goal is going to be tougher, I believe. My PR for 21 km is currently 1:33:37.

I´m uploading my runs on Garminconnect, Strava and Nike+. Feel free to add me if you are also a member on any of these.

Garmin Connect

Strava

Nike+

Wow! Kudos for setting such an ambitious goal! At least, it's ambitious in my eyes; I ran my second half marathon last May with a time of 2:21:02. My goal the second time was to improve on my time from my first run (2:39:33) with an unofficial desired finish time of 2:20 and a second unofficial goal of to continuously run it, no walking! So I hit both goals! (My goal for my first half marathon was just to finish, no matter how much I ran or how much I walked, just cross the finish line. My motto was "Set the bar low so there's no where to go but up!")

My next goal, for the 2014 Rock and Roll half I'm signed up for is to improve my time again (I'm thinking 2:15, don't want to overstretch myself and I have a couple injuries I'm nursing). Since my improvement from 2012 to 2013 mainly came from just being able to run the whole thing, I'm actually going to have to speed train this year, I think, so I'm starting my training up again pretty soon (once the weather starts to cool off). My plan is to build up my base by December so that by January, when I would normal start my specific half marathon training, I can start the speed training instead of having to start from scratch.

I got an iPhone a couple months ago and I'm having problems getting it to play podcasts while I use my Nike+ so I haven't decided if I'll stick to the Nike+ or go 100% over to Map My Run, otherwise I'd friend you through Nike+... Also, I have issues loading the Nike+ website, it's really slow for me.

The thing about running is that it might make you feel miserable at first, then the more you do it the more you start to like it, eventually it becomes addictive.

I'm definitely not at the addictive phase, it's still a bit of a chore to make myself go out and do my training runs, but I tell myself that if I don't want another injury I can't slack on the training.

May be helpful

I listened to the couch to 5k podrunner series to get me motivated and running two years ago; it's a podcast of house music that has cues in it that tell you when to walk and when to run that's basically the music version of this image. You also don't have to time yourself, you just listen to the music. Granted, some of the mixes are better than others.

Podrunner by DJSteveBoy

I rather suspect there are things happening in the brain of a runner and to the brain of a runner that are not apparent to a duffer. And you have to get past the break-in to start seeing any of that. My brother-in-law is a runner and I can tell by the look on his face that it's more than "just running." I used to do Tai Chi every morning, primarily for the exercise. I was skeptical of it at first, viewing it as likely little more than gentle movement, but the more I practised, the more I realized that there are mental aspects to the practice which aren't obvious from the outside. I've meditated from time to time in my life, though I never had much patience for it. I found that Tai Chi produced the same kinds of mental focus. I suspect what goes on in the mind of a runner is very different from that of a person who just occasionally laces up a shoe.

I have to listen to podcasts or audiobooks when I run; if I run without one of these things I get annoyed listening to myself huff and puff like I'm about to die; when I listen to music (except the continuous podrunner mixes) I'm far too aware of how much time has elapsed since I started running (i.e. "This song is 4 minutes long and I'm only to the first chorus!?!? I'M GONNA DIE!!) When I listen to podcasts or audiobooks, though, I'm able to mentally go to a different place so I'm not focused on my achy legs or how much my lungs are burning, I just run.