So I'm running *another* marathon (Chicago 2014)

I blew my knee out over a quarter century ago. No marathons for me. Be careful out there, old man.

I am doing my first 5k on Nov 22nd of this year.

I've decided that I am no longer OK being a 34 year old 220lbs slug. I was very active when I was younger having raced mountain bikes, rock climbed, white water kayaked etc and want to get back into shape. Running seems like a very accessible, affordable and great way to get there!

Last week I started jogging and have gone a bit every day. The first day was brutal and I only managed a mile in about 15 minutes, day two I did about 1.5 miles and on day three until yesterday I've done a 2.54 mile loop pretty consistently in 29 minutes. Today is a rest day.

I've signed up to do a Turkey Trot 5k on Nov 22nd and while I really don't care about placing, I'd like to be able to run the entire thing, so I am looking for any tips or advice on how to best use the next six weeks to prepare.

I know I need to up the distance of my runs to at least 5k/3.1 miles. Any other tips for the beginner runner? I'd like to enjoy the sport with out injuring myself.

Thanks!

In reply to Storz:

Don't run too hard. Too hard = lots of injuries.

By that- for all but one of you runs per week, you should be able to carry on a conversation.

Now I realize that will take a while, but that's what your goal should be.

Then once a week, do some "speed" work. Intervals, hills, etc.

"Speed" work is only partially for speed- IMHO, it's more about increasing your body's ability to use air. Your slow runs will speed up- which means for a given time period, you will be burning more energy- which is good.

I think its your body turning up the volume on the liver and it's ability to make and proccess energy for your muscles. As I put together the data- your precived effort/ability to talk- is a function of how well your body uses O2. And your body uses that when burning energy. This is where the anerobic and aerobioc areas come in- aerobic means you have a good ballance between your body's ability to make and use energy/O2, anerobic is when you are exceeding your body's abiluty to make and use energy. One you can go for a long time, the other very short. We evolved to do both, for some reason.

Not sure if that helps or not.

^^ Thanks

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:

i have no idea. i'm in Corral F, starting time estimated 8:02 AM. i will post my bib number here at some point before the race. i hope the race tracker has some way to do automatic facebook updates.

In reply to Storz:

• short stride. foot should be under or slightly behind your knee when your foot touches the ground.
• knee should be slightly bent when foot touches the ground.
• don't let your foot slide forward as it contacts the ground (that's putting on the brakes)
• pay attention to your breathing, and how many steps you take with every breath. it's a good way to monitor how hard you're working.
• don't worry about your pace. run comfortably, and don't overwork yourself. if you're sore tomorrow, you might not want to run the day after that. people typically go too hard too soon, then quit because running hurts.
• ride a bike. srsly, it's way easier on your knees. i'm almost 48, just started running 2 yrs ago, but biked consistently over the last 21 years so have good stability in knees and ankles.
• enjoy the experience. if there's a paved path in a local park, run there. it's nice to be away from traffic.

Good luck!

Thanks for the great info!

follow AngryCorvair in the Chicago Marathon Oct 12th by clicking on that link and typing in my bib number 20145

unofficial result 4:11:34. man, it was a crowded race! i was slow through the 5k just being careful, then i was slow through the 10k because i had to drop a deuce. post-dump pace was excellent, and i cleared the halfway point at 2:01 and change. my right hip was bothering me a little bit at the half, and just kept getting worse. somewhere around mile 19 i had to drop into a run / walk, which really bummed me out. i would run until my body told my brain to get berkeleyed, then i'd walk till my brain wouldn't allow me to walk anymore. this went on for six slow miles. i think i "ran" from the 25-mile sign to the finish.

positive: i took over 33 minutes off my time from last year.

negative: i'm always going to worry about that friggin' hip when i get into higher mileage.

overall: raised over $3000 for providing clean water to communities in Africa. going to keep running, and going to keep training for a Boston Qualifier in 2016.

Awesome job regardless. It was a great day for the marathon at least. Congrats on the finish.

I didn't make it to the start line because of a nice infection that had my lungs screwed up.

Hey Angry, that overuse hip injury can be caused by a couple of things. One is foot strike but most likely a slight overstride is the culprit. Cut two inches out of your stride and turn your legs over just a tad faster to compensate.

Also, it's tough to predict a marathon pace result from a half-marathon time. There's nothing like the last six miles with no glycogen left in the tank. Still, you cut half of the time necessary to qualify for Boston in one year. That's gotta feel good. It takes more than one year of quality running to cut a whole hour out of your marathon time, which is essentially what you're trying to do.

Find a nice park somewhere with a soft surface and fool around with stride length /turnover. You'll find a combo that's a little less, er, shocking. Cut down to 25-30 miles per week on the softer surface for a while and recharge yourself.