distance running without going stick mode

[slightlygifted]

I'm very familiar with Daniel's Running Formula, I even tried to run a slightly modified program out of it (I ended up getting hurt, but that is another story) It is a really really good starting point and you are making a good choice following it. Are you on a team/have a coach? If so what you might find is once it gets time to do the fun stuff (Phase 2-3-4) it will probably be in the thick of XC season, and your coach is just going to make you train with the rest of the kids. If you can get away running a Daniel's program I think it would be awesome, because the program, as is, run straight from the book is better than 95% of coaches end up putting together.

And you might be closer to sub 17 than you think. I went from a 19:19 5k to a 17:15 5k in pretty much 5 months, and then down to a 16:39 5k in another 4 months. The key to having a big break through is consistency. Whatever it takes to avoid down time, mental fatigue, injury, do it, a week of missed running sets you back for the rest of your career, because you can never get that training back.

Good luck man, stick to what Daniel's says, he know much more than I do!

no coach, just doin it on my own. and ya, figure that the biggest obstacle to success will be injury, been making sure to do proper warmups/cooldowns and stretching sessions a couple times a week.

wednesday:

10:30pm run on treadmill (7.2mph @ 1% incline)
.5 mile jog
dynamics/light stretches
8.2 miles (8:20 pace, didn't catch total time and to lazy to do calculations atm. but burned 1100 calories apparently, so ate a **** ton when i finished, was at 1400 cals eaten before that and needed to get up to around 3k)

woke up at 7am and got back at 10pm, was a long day and don't like to run outside at night because there are no close lighted roads nearby, so just had to pull out the treadmill. i set to 1% incline because that supposedly makes up for wind resistance, but anyways was going for 8 miles but ended up with 8.2 cause i had a crazy pump song going and was in the zone so just waited for it to finish. really need to either find a 24hr gym or find somewhere with lighting nearby so that i don't wake everyone up when i run though.

[slightlygifted]

thursday:

11pm: weights pull day
5 mins treadmill
pullups: 1x5 bw warmup, 2x5 bw+25pounds, 1x8 bw
deadlifts: 1x5 135 warmup, 1x3 185 warmup, 1x5 210, 2x5 215
1 arm db rows: 1x5 35 warmup, 3x5 70
upright rows: 3x5 70
behind head lat pulldowns: 2x8 @ 120
shrugs: 45 each hand to failure x2 (super set after pulldowns)

2 min rest between everything

6:30pm run at park (93F, sunny, humid)
.5 mile jog
dynamics/light stretches
3 min rest
5 miles 39:56 (7:59 pace)

progressed on deadlifts and feel like i can go up a lot in them, but progress is slower for rows and pullups so i may switch things up a bit in a week. as for the run, how the **** it was 90+ and still sunny at 6:30 is beyond me.

[slightlygifted]

friday:

rest day, just did 20 min stretch routine (routine 2 in book)

saturday:
6:30am test 5k run
.5 mile jog
dynamics/light stretches
5k run 19:34

8pm: 30 mins on stationary bike (10 miles, 3rd setting)

did test 5k today, got about same time i got at xc finals last year but i was peaked for that. in terms of respiratory/cardiovascular didn't feel taxed at all which last year was imo my limiting factor (slowed down cause i couldn't breathe etc), but my legs were burning and felt weak and heavy about 1.5 miles in, probably because i haven't done any sort of tempo run since xc last year, so hopefully when i move into the tempo runs/interval training i get that endurance and can better my time. also gonna start doing stationary bike 2x a week, just because this plan im using recommends 3-4 days of supplemental training and count 2 days of lifting a week as other 2.

[sirbrandon101]

Off the top of my head that's right around 6:20 pace for your 5k. Nice job man. I agree with the other guy about speeding up your runs though. You've got solid speed based off your track times and there's no reason why you can't be doing your runs closer to 7:00/mile although it seems like the weather is definitely a factor. My times were pretty close to yours when I was 15 (2:12 800m, 4:59 1600m, 10:42 3200m) but my training runs over the summer were intense, never slower than 7:15 pace and every few days somebody would decide to run fast and the rest of the pack would follow them and before we knew it we would be splitting high 18's/low 19's through 3 miles on a 8 mile run.

Good luck on your training. I'm going to start running this week for the first time in about a year. I'll be preparing for a 2 mile race(on dirt with lots of hills) in August where alumni from my high school race against the current xc runners from the school.

[slightlygifted]

Off the top of my head that's right around 6:20 pace for your 5k. Nice job man. I agree with the other guy about speeding up your runs though. You've got solid speed based off your track times and there's no reason why you can't be doing your runs closer to 7:00/mile although it seems like the weather is definitely a factor. My times were pretty close to yours when I was 15 (2:12 800m, 4:59 1600m, 10:42 3200m) but my training runs over the summer were intense, never slower than 7:15 pace and every few days somebody would decide to run fast and the rest of the pack would follow them and before we knew it we would be splitting high 18's/low 19's through 3 miles on a 8 mile run.

Good luck on your training. I'm going to start running this week for the first time in about a year. I'll be preparing for a 2 mile race(on dirt with lots of hills) in August where alumni from my high school race against the current xc runners from the school.

thanks for the suggestion. but i kind of like the idea of this book that i am following, that the easy run pace should be just hard enough that it contributes to your fitness and ability, it shouldn't be so hard that you dread running. the way this guy has the program set up, there should be 3 hard "quality" days per week, right now the only hard day is the long run on wednesday, because this is supposedly the easy/rest phase. but anyways i figure the biggest limiting factor besides injury....is just flat out not wanting to run, so even though i may be able to improve faster, i know that i will likely just burn out if i do a hard pace every day, so i think ill just stick with this because hopefully with an approach thats not overly stressful i should be able to keep running and improving (albeit slowly) for 10+ years. oddly enough at the 5k i went to on sat, the guy who won the race was 34 and ran a 15:21, so i figure that i have plenty of time to improve if people in their mid 30s can run that fast.

[slightlygifted]

sunday:

1pm weights push day
5 mins treadmill
db bench: 1x8 40s warmup (1 min rest) 2x5 65s, 1x5 60s (2 min rest btwn each)
calf raise machine: 2xf @ 200 ( 2 min rest btwn each)
standing db overhead press: 1x8 25s warmup (1 min rest), 2x5 40s, 1x4 40s (2 min rest btwn each)
squats: 1x5 135 atg warmup (1 min rest), 2x190 at or below parallel (2 min rest between each) 1x195 (3 min rest before this one)
dips: 2x15 bw (2 min rest between each)
lateral raises: 2x10 15s (1 min rest between each)

8pm: easy run around neighborhood (over bridge and back) (90F, humid, dusk)
.5 mile warmup jog
dynamics/light stretches
3 min rest
5 miles easy 41:40 (8:20 pace)
3 min rest
4x30 second strides (1 min rest between each)

feeling good on squats, can definitely improve on them. moved up a little in db bench and feeling better on dips as well, may switch from db to barbell in a week or 2 just to vary my workouts a little, maybe exchange some exercises. run felt incredibly easy today, will ratchet up the pace a bit. this will be my last entry until thursday, going out of town for college orientation for 3 days tommorow.

[slightlygifted]

thursday:

6pm: run around neighborhood (over bridge, a little past intersection and back)
(82F, windy, rain)
.5 mile jog
dynamics/light stretches
3 min rest
8.5 miles in 1:12:10 (8:30 per mile)

well i was gonna run on the treadmill because it was pouring rain, but i said **** it i haven't run in 3 days. first 5 miles or so i was doing like an 8:40+ pace, was very tight and wind/rain was slowing me down, but then i entered that state where everything goes numb and im just floating along, did my last couple miles way faster and didn't feel even as tired as i normally am after just 5 miles. i am 4 weeks into this base building phase (started it 6/2) and am gonna go into the next part at week 6, definitely feel like i am in the best shape of my life atm, at least cardiovascular wise.

[slightlygifted]

friday:

3pm: weights pull day
5 mins treadmill
pullups: 1x5bw warmup, 2x5bw+25, 1x9bw (2 mins btwn work sets)
deadlifts: 1x5 135 warmup, 1x3 185 warmup, 2x5 215, 1x5 220 (3 mins btwn work sets)
one arm db row: 1x35s warmup, 3x5 70s (2 mins btwn work sets)
upright row: 3x5 70 (2 mins)
lat pulldowns: 2x8 @ 120 (2 mins)
shrugs: 2xf 45s each hand (supersetted with pulldowns)

11pm: run around neighborhood (81F, rainy)
.5 mile warmup
dynamics/light stretches
3 mins rest
5 miles easy 41:20 (8:16 pace)
3 mins rest
4x25 second strides (1 min rest btwn)

saturday:
7pm: 20 min stretching session (routine 1)


decided to make sat a rest day, spent all day moving heavy furniture, driving, then moving heavy furniture again, and since i am now in a new place didn't feel like finding a new place to run tonight.

[slightlygifted]

sunday:

6pm:run around neighborhood (88F, sunny)
.5 mile warmup
dynamics/light stretches
3 min rest
5 miles easy 39:08 (7:50 pace)
4 min rest
4x25 second strides (pushed myself on these)

not sure i will be able to work out tommorow....4th of july and i need to get a new gym membership because i just moved here. will see what happens.

[slightlygifted]

7pm:run around neighborhood (86F, sunny)
.5 mile warmup
dynamics/light stretches
3 min rest
5 miles easy 39:34 (7:56 pace)

well all gyms were closed, so no workout today. just did some random sets of pushups/lunges/dips, but am just gonna move my push day to thursday anyways so will delay workout until then.

[slightlygifted]

tuesday:

5pm: run at park (89F, sunny) (bike trail, went down middle path)
.5 mile jog
dynamics/light stretches
3 min rest
5 miles in 41:23 (8:17 pace)

well even though i went at a slower pace, was just as hard. decided to try to find a park or something to run at because i figured running on nothing but concrete would eventually cause some sort of injury. so i found a park and the only non concrete area was a bunch of seldom used bike trails, just picked one and ran down it. although it was pretty overgrown and terrain was loose/uneven in some places, it wasn't to bad, although i had to go a bit slower through sand/high grass. was definitely more fun to run through nature exploring rather than running next to a road with people honking/shouting **** etc the entire time (not that i can ever even hear them because of my ipod).

[slightlygifted]

wednesday:

5pm: run around neighborhood (84F, cloudy, light rain)
.5 mile jog
dynamics/light stretches
3 min rest
9 miles in 1:15:19 (8:22 pace)

9pm: 20 min stretching session (routine 2)

9 miles is the longest distance im gonna do in this training, maybe if i start training for a 10k or half marathon ill go longer. well Ive made it to my longest mileage weeks without any injury, hoping to keep this up.

[slightlygifted]

thursday:

5pm: weights push day (new gym)
.5 mile jog treadmill
db bench:1x8 35s warmup, 3x5 65s (2 mins btwn work sets)
squats: 1x5 135 warmup, 3x5 190 (2 mins btwn work sets)
standing db ohp: 1x5 25s warmup, 3x5 40s (2 mins btwn work sets)
calf raise machine: 2xf (2 mins btwn)
dips: 2x15 (2 mins btwn)
lateral raises: 2x10 15s (1 min btwn)

decided to make today my rest from running day instead of tommorow because i only got 3.5 hrs of sleep last night. but lifting didn't seem to suffer, felt stronger and lifted more on bench, and would've done more on squat but found out my new gym doesn't supply belts so i just focused on good form and going down farther instead of upping weight.

[riaden]

good to see your having a rest day, i think i need more of thoes.

[slightlygifted]

good to see your having a rest day, i think i need more of thoes.

tried to forgo rest days in track....only led to forced rest due to injury lol.

friday:

7pm: run around neighborhood (78F, moderate rain, windy)
.5 mile warmup
dynamics/light stretches
2 min rest
5 miles in 37:59 (7:36 per mile)
3 min rest
6 25 second strides (little faster than mile pace)

decided to do a "marathon pace" run after the first mile because i was feeling good. for some reason i run better when its cold, windy, and rainy....ran my best times in track and xc on cold rainy days, no idea why. also....am about a week away from finishing this base training phase.

note to self: find waterproof case for ipod.

[slightlygifted]

saturday:

7pm: run around neighborhood (90F+, sunny, humid)
.5 mile jog
dynamics/light stretches
2 min rest
5 miles in 39:27 (7:54 pace)


i feel like after every long run then these easy runs really do become much easier....am starting to believe "daniels running formula" in that it states that the long run is the most important workout of the week. considering adding .5 miles to easy run days so im running for a bit longer distance to get a better cardio workout, but that might just wait till next base training since im almost done with this one.

[Triskelion]

Putting in a lot of work and your numbers are looking pretty damn good! Keep it up man, great job !

[slightlygifted]

Putting in a lot of work and your numbers are looking pretty damn good! Keep it up man, great job !

thanks

sunday:

5pm: run at park on bike trail (93F, sunny, humid)
.5 mile warmup
dynamics/light stretches
2 min rest
5 miles 40:10 (8:02 pace)
3 min rest
4x25 second strides (1 min rest btwn each)

9pm: 20 minutes deep stretching (routine 3)

well when i do my easy runs now i make a point to not look at my pace and just go at what i feel is a decent pace, and now im able to do about an 8 min pace over rough terrain at about the same effort an 8:30 pace over sidewalk took a month ago, so am feeling good. had a kind of funny moment where i actually saw someone biking on this trail (place looks like its usually dead) and just flew past them while they were struggling to get through some loose sand. still want to find a better "soft surface" place to run though....lots of uneven ground on that trail that might lead to injury.

[slightlygifted]

monday:

1pm: pull day weights
5 mins treadmill warmup
neutral grip pullups: 1x8bw, 2x5 +25pounds, 1x8bw (2 min rests)
deadlifts: 1x5 135, 1x5 185 (warmups) 1x5 215, 2x5 220 (3 min rests)
1 arm db rows: 1x5 40s warmup, 3x5 70s (2 min rests)
upright row: 3x5 75 pounds (2 min rest)
behind head lat pulldowns: 2x8 120 (2 min rest)
shrugs: 2xf 50s each hand (supersetted after pulldowns)

6pm: run around neighborhood (92F, sunny, humid)
.5 mile warmup
dynamics/light stretches
2 min rest
5 miles in 36:45 (7:22pace)

ran harder than i wanted to, wasn't really a cardio run more of a tempo run....but whatever. starting thursday am switching everything from dumbells to barbells and starting next 6 week phase of this training program. figure i will change my workout routine along with my running every 6-8 weeks, also might try and bench max just to see if my max went up at all.

[slightlygifted]

tuesday:

6pm: run around neighborhood (92F, sunny, humid)
.5 mile warmup
dynamics/light stretches
2 min rest
5 miles easy in 38:33 (7:42 per mile pace)
3 min rest
4x 25 second strides (1 min rest btwn)

well....deadlift day + going at a hard pace = hamstrings destroyed the next day. but i still managed a decent pace. i feel like something just snapped into place, like i changed my running form or something, i just feel more efficient/energetic while going at a faster pace. also of concern, can't really find anywhere to do hill sprints. but only going to be living here until i go off to college in august so i can go a bit without them i guess.

[slightlygifted]

wednesday:

4:00pm run around neighborhood ("feels like" 102F, sunny) <---just going by weather channels "feels like" index now, can get better idea of difference in temps btwn days besides saying one was not humid and the other was humid.

.5mile jog
dynamics/light stretches
about 6 miles (didn't catch time but was going like 8:10 pace)

well....i was planning on doing 9 miles today, but 2 problems faced me. 1) had plans for night so had to be ready to leave house by 6 and 2) apparently its really ****ing hot right now and we are in like a heat warning or something and i was running in a really hot part of the day. so after running about 6 miles in the blazing sun my vision starts to blur, i have a pounding headache, and i feel as if im sunburned all over my body even though im not. i decided to just stop and call to have my bro pick me up, didn't want to risk heatstroke. will just have to do my long run tomorrow, probably at like 8pm when there is no sun. can't even say i was tired in that i was breathing hard and muscles hurt etc, just couldn't take the heat.

[slightlygifted]

thursday:

12pm: weights push day (changed up routine and got new gym today)
5 mins treadmill
bb bench: 1x5 135 warmup, 1x5 145, 2x5 150 (2 min rests)
deep squats: 1x5 135, 1x5 185 (warmups), 2x5 195, 1x5 200 (2 min rests)
sitting bb ohp: 1x5 45 warmup, 2x5 85, 1x4 85 (2 min rests)
horizontal calf raise machine: 2xf (25, 15) 4 45s on machine (2 min rests)
dips: 2x15 bw (2 min rests)
db lateral raises: 1x10 15s, 1x5 20s (1 min rest, held last rep of 20s for as long as i could)

7pm: run around neighborhood ("feels like" 92F, dusk)
.5 mile warmup
dynamics/light stretches
2 min rest
9 miles in 1:13:33 (8:11 per mile pace)


considering dropping calf exercises from workout....4 mins working out calves in gym = 73 minutes of hell running (well actually after 6 miles i stopped feeling my calves lol). changed up workout, in 6 weeks will just switch ohp and bench to work on shoulders more. as hard as day was it was worth it in the end....realized after my run that i had only eaten 1100 calories so far that day and i needed about 3000 just to hit maintenance, so headed over to chipotle and got 2 fully loaded burritos (at least 1700 cals, maybe more) and still had room for a 300cal bowl of oats when i got home. one reason i know i can never stop running is i acquired the ability to shovel in massive amounts of food and i know the day i stop i will be gaining 2-3 pounds a week lol.

[riaden]

great progress, good to see your putting in the fuel, i just wish i could do it as easy as you.
Keep up the good work, your running is improving

[slightlygifted]

great progress, good to see your putting in the fuel, i just wish i could do it as easy as you.
Keep up the good work, your running is improving

thanks, and gl on your log as well.

friday:

rest day. all i did was 20 minute stretching routine from book (routine 1)

[slightlygifted]

saturday:

5pm: run around neighborhood ("feels like" 91F, cloudy)
1 mile warmup (8:01)
dnyamics/light stretches
2 min rest
6x (200m recovery jog, 200m rep pace) goal for reps: 43s, actual: 43s avg
1x (400m recovery jog, 400m rep pace) goal for reps: 90s, actual: 88s
3 min rest
2 mile cooldown in 15:50 (7:55 per mile)

total distance: 5 miles

started with 200m jog then reps etc, after last 200m rep did 400m jog then 400m rep. wasn't that bad a workout but it looks to be one of the easiest in this plan. also didn't time jogs in between reps, but was basically just normal easy pace (a little more than 8mins per mile pace).

[slightlygifted]

sunday:

6pm: run around neighborhood ("feels like" 93F, cloudy)
.5mile warmup in 4:00
dynamics/light stretches
2 min break
4x (1 mile threshold pace, 1 min rest) goal time 6:55 per, actuals: 6:51, 6:40, 6:58, 6:51
3 min break
.5 mile cooldown in 4:02

total: 5 miles

wasn't a terrible workout, scared though because i looked up what workouts will be in a few weeks and see "7-9 mile repeats threshold pace 1 min breaks" but hopefully ill have a better tolerance for them by then. also had at least 20 people shout something out of their cars at me...like 5 more than normal. why people have the urge to shout **** at runners who can't even hear them because they are wearing headphones i have no idea....but w/e. kind of miss having a park to run at (bike trail doesn't count).

[riaden]

haha yea mate i know what you mean about fellow runners and ipods, when you ask them to get out the way and they dont, then you yell, and they still dont hear you, its not untill you come up right behind them they jump out the way. scaring them lol

progress is looking good keep it up

[slightlygifted]

haha yea mate i know what you mean about fellow runners and ipods, when you ask them to get out the way and they dont, then you yell, and they still dont hear you, its not untill you come up right behind them they jump out the way. scaring them lol

progress is looking good keep it up

lol...happened to me when some ***got was riding his dirtbike at 40mph at least down the sidewalk and passes and inch away from me, literally jumped off the sidewalk into a bush. but w/e.

monday:

11am: weights pull day
5 mins treadmill
wide reverse grip pullups: 1x10, 1x8, 1x6 (2 min rest btwn each). went from deadhang to all the way up slowly, should be good alternative to close grip chinups ive been doing.
deadlifts: 1x5 135, 1x5 185 (warmups), 3x5 220 (3 mins rest btwn main sets)
standing bb row: 1x5 95, 3x5 125 (2 mins rest btwn main sets) really focused on form today more than weight
upright row: 3x5 70 (2 min rest btwn)
sitting row machine: 2x5 @ 110 (2 min rest btwn) might want to replace with other pull exercise, to similiar to bb row.
shrugs: 2xf 45s each hand (super set after above)


6pm: run at bike trail ("feels like" 87F, shady)
.5 mile warmup (4:06)
dynamics/light stretches
1 min rest
5 miles in 40:21 (8:04 per mile pace)

total: 5.5 miles

tried new pull workout today, kinda focused more on doing bb rows correctly over using as much weight as i could. also may have found a better place to run....talked to some triathlete guy after run who just biked like 30 miles or something crazy, told me of a 2 mile course that is all grass nearby (better than sandy/uneven ground on bike trail).

[slightlygifted]

tuesday:

7pm: run around neighborhood ("feels like" 87F, sunny)
1 mile warmup (7:57)
dynamics/light stretches
2 min rest
3.1 miles of 2mins interval pace, 1 min jog, 1 min interval pace, 30sec jog, 30 sec interval pace, 30 second jog then repeat with 2 mins I pace etc. I pace = 6:16 per mile pace (went as fast or faster) total time: 21:58 (7:06 per mile but is including jogging portions)
3 min rest
1 mile cooldown (7:15)

total: 5.1miles

workout wasn't to bad, was thinking about changing up my pull workout from yesterday but judging by the doms i have today i think its a good workout lol.

[riaden]

mice workout. do you like it better training later in the day? im more of a morning person.