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5k advice needed
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 (October 12, 2018 at 9:35 am)Figbash Wrote: I have a Polar heart rate monitor, you strap it around your chest and keep track on the watch. I would use something like this instead of a fitbit, since it's much more accurate. I have the Polar watch as well, although I never wear the heart monitor though. I will upgrade to a fit bit at one point I think.
"Be Excellent To Each Other"
Knowing my own heart rate, my GearFit 2 is pretty accurate.
Disclaimer: I am only responsible for what I say, not what you choose to understand.
A year is a super long time, so it should be totally reasonable for anyone to be able to jog a 5k after a year. I've seen pretty out of shape people finish half marathons at a slow jog. So don't be intimidated.
I can't give you a specific program, you need a personal trainer for that, but as a lifelong athlete I can give you very good advice about achieving fitness goals. Well to achieve any sort of goal you need to build a pyramid of success. Unless you are super obese, I wouldn't bother with walking except as a cool down and warm up. Walking will not help your running. I'd get on that same treadmill and see how long you can go on a slow jog for. That's what you are going to do, so that's what's important to do. Start by walking and stretching a bit and then jog at a slow pace for as long as you can. Say you only make it a quarter mile. That's fine! Switch to walking until Improvement comes most quickly at the start. Write down your mileage and walk. Next time you are on a treadmill, (I'd say you want to go twice a week minimum) Do the same thing with the goal of breaking your mileage running. Don't stop until you've gone farther than last time. Basically repeat this until you can run 3 miles. You need to always up your level of activity to see any improvement. If you just walk a mile every week, or run a mile at the same pace for that matter, you won't see improvement or get fitter. Basically your body adjusts to what you are doing. If you are walking a mile, your body will be fit enough to walk a mile. If you never go beyond that, it's basically goes 'well this is good enough' and you will just maintain there. So it's always about making gains. If you run a mile one week and a mile and a quarter the next week, your body goes "oh, I need to be fitter than I am" and adjusts. The final and best advice is to make it a social activity. Join a club or sport. Play basketball with your daughter, do cardio kickboxing, whatever it is if your can make it something you look forward to doing, rather than something you force yourself to do, that's definitely the best thing you can do and maintain. ![[Image: dcep7c.jpg]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i46.tinypic.com%2Fdcep7c.jpg)
I recently completed a 10m tough mudder from a position of being mildly out of shape. What worked for me was the usual tactic of building up slowly, running small amounts and going for longer runs every time. Usually did it around twice a week and after around 3 months I was in decent enough shape for at least the running parts.
It’s amazing how quickly you adapt and your body conditions itself for longer runs. In fact after only a couple of runs I was going from 3m to around 5 or 6 which I thought pretty cool (still killed me, though, lol). So yeah. Slow and steady, go at your own pace. It’s a ‘race’ but you’re only competing against yourself in reality, so have fun with it.  (October 12, 2018 at 6:55 am)Joods Wrote: The youngest has talked me into doing a 5k with him one year from now. I seriously need to start conditioning my self and I figured it would also be a great way to lose weight in the process. So I'm looking for advice from people who have been completely out of shape prior to running a 5k, what you did as far as dieting, exercise and generally getting yourself in the proper condition to run such a race, because, well everyone knows I don't run. Ever. But this is for a good cause - Breast cancer research and I have a year to train. Build up gradually. I started running half a mile a couple of times a week, it was hard but eventually that half mile felt like nothing so I did a mile, then two then 3 now I run 8 miles most sundays. But my main advice would be to get really good shoes, I was using any trainer at first and had to take a break because they were ruining my knees. Go somewhere that sees what sort of gait you have and buy shoes for that. You can fix ignorance, you can't fix stupid. Tinkety Tonk and down with the Nazis.
All great advice. Thanks everyone.
I think my main issue is with my heart rate. Even on the treadmill, I'll set it for say 1.5 mph and my heart rate literally jumps up to the 140's. That's like barely a brisk walk. So if anyone has any ideas on how to build up a tolerance towards running while at the same time not stressing out my heart rate, then I'm all ears. Per doc's orders - I can exercise but she does not want me taking my HR past 150. Disclaimer: I am only responsible for what I say, not what you choose to understand.
 (October 12, 2018 at 4:10 pm)Joods Wrote: All great advice. Thanks everyone. Maybe the thing to train for is to be able to walk 5K instead of run or jog? (Is that allowed?) That should be fairly doable, a matter of increasing your distance little by little. I think if you decide to run, especially in the excitement of a race outdoors, maybe in challenging weather, you might wind up over 150 at points. Does your treadmill HR stay in the 140s when you're walking, or does it stay up there a little bit and then come down? (October 12, 2018 at 4:10 pm)Joods Wrote: All great advice. Thanks everyone. Do you like riding bikes or swimming? You might be able to do some biking or a stationary bike for a long time without getting your heart rate too high. Or jazzercize or something like that. You can probably I assume that it's okay to sometime take your heartrate above 150 but she probably doesn't want it maintained there for long lengths of time. I mean if you jog a 5k, your heart rate will probably be above it for a good long while. I'd probably ask for clarification from your doctor. I've never had heart problems so I'm not really sure. Wouldn't want to do anything to risk a heart attack.
(October 12, 2018 at 4:56 pm)julep Wrote:(October 12, 2018 at 4:10 pm)Joods Wrote: All great advice. Thanks everyone. It stays up there until I do a cool down cycle or reduce the number on the treadmill. Really, you can only go so low after 1.5 I'd like to walk for this, but it's a zombie run and you have three flags attached to you. They are your lives. If you lose them, you don't get a medal at the end of the race. There are also obstacle courses along the way. It looks to be a lot of fun. Disclaimer: I am only responsible for what I say, not what you choose to understand.
 RE: 5k advice needed
October 14, 2018 at 3:07 pm
(This post was last modified: October 14, 2018 at 3:10 pm by skyking.)
get a free treadmill off craigslist. Look closely and test them before you load it up.
People give them away all the time. I see you have a membership with access, but having one at home is going to encourage you. I placed mine right in the living room where I could watch TV. The treadmill bed has considerable cushioning for you knees and ankles. You can get into shape a lot more safely than hitting the road. Once you can click off a nice 5K on the treadmill and have your shoes figured out, take your training to the road. You will be surprised at how cushy that treadmill really was 
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