For stamina secret is to run longer and (much) slower. The improvement is not as immediate as with strides though, it will take you a couple of months to see tangible results.
If you could add an hour run at an average heart rate of ~135bmp -which in your case could be real slow, even with some intermediate walking to keep the heart low- you'd be surprised with the results.
Consistency is the key though. Try not to loose sessions.
If you stick with 2 strides + 1 long run + 1 cheat run (anything you like, but ideally average heart rate not more than 145) for 2 months you will built a good base to then follow a 40 days program with intervals instead of strides and destroy the 45 minutes barrier.
I have tried to make the most of the nice weather these last couple of days to do some running. Yesterday, I managed to fit a 20 minute run (4.7 km) and I treated myself to a platter of souvlaki and some beers afterwards. Today, I went for a longer run: 8.5 km in 37 minutes. I’ll thank the Greek food for the good sensations!
1:52:05 (5:20/km)
Cruising in pain. Lung-wise it wasn't that much of an effort, but from 5km onwards my ankle was in pain. Since last half marathon (4 weeks ago) I didn't do any serious training, only some recovery runs at ~8:00min/km pace.
Let's hope my ankle won't worsen too much.
So since April 21, I did very few running, something like 4 times in total with 14 days no running at all. The ankle got better but not completely so I decided to go to the hospital for proper exams.
I did x-rays, ultrasonic plus good ol' examination by the physician and conclusion is whatever it is, it's not visible so I guess this is good news already
The pain is very mild and need a specific position to appear but of course I know very well that when I will start doing 100km a week at some point it will re-appear, most probably during tapering right before the marathon.
Anyway, the key to deliver your feet injury /sore pain free to the race day is stretching & strengthening. The 2 life savers.
10 minutes stretching after each run and 30 minutes strengthening twice a week preferably after intervals /intense sessions i.e., intervals in the morning, strengthening in the evening.
Here are some YouTube links. Stretching follow along routine:
Strengthening routines links below. Those routines are 10 minutes or less but mega important to deliver your body to race day without injuries.
No souvlaki for me yesterday, just a chicken burrito and a couple of bottles of Gulden Draak, but the latter seem to have given me added wings today: 8.05 km in 35 minutes.
I don't think I was able to pull these number even in high school/college when I was way more active (truth be told, I didn't measure time often, only the distance. Smartwatches and smartphones weren't a deal back then).
Two days ago I did my first proper official half-marathon in 2:16:16!
Last month my training regime got even worse instead of better, and tapering I did was quite unintentional. Only goal I had for this half-marathon was to get to the finish line in allowed time (I thought it was 2:30:00 but later realized they didn't have it and now I know why). So, I count this as a huge success. Moreso, this half-marathon was halfway between date when I started running again (New Year) and the marathon I'm planning to run (October 16th). Also, there is a 3/4 marathon (31 km) on August 31st and I guess that'll be my next checkpoint to see if I'm ready.
Although my training regime was bad, I tried to prepare myself for it and still made a huge chunk of mistakes. So, instead of just writing my experience, I'll list couple of "DON'T" advice so I can remind myself later.
1. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE RUNNING COURSE!
And I really didn't. I've read that this one was hard, I tried to lower my tempo, I "traveled" through the whole track via Google Maps, I've listened to the official speaker, but... It was brutal. There was a part after seventh kilometer where the track goes uphill (and speaker warned us several times!!!), but I haven't experienced something like this: four kilometers of hills over 300 meters in high. Which wouldn't be a problem if it was a steady incline. Nope. Inclide, decline, incline, decline. I thought I was really unprepared until I saw all of the runners around me walking. More so, there was a refreshment station where runners (who I knew were good) stood and tried to gather their strength. Usually, somebody runs by, grabs a bottle of water and continues on. Not here: people were chatting for good half a minute.
Just a pic I managed to take. Not only did I or anybody run on these part, I didn't even knew how to.
2. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE WEATHER!
At last refreshment station there was a guy with a hose showering runners.
- Man, why have you worn black?!
- Dude, I had no idea. Fuck me, right?
Weather forecast was cloudy with high possibility of rain and I always wear my dry-fit shirt and short for races (which are black). So, it was 30 degrees Celsius and majority of course didn't have an inch of shade. So yes, next time, light-colored clothes. Also, a hat or sunglasses. I run at night or sundown and races I've applied to were usually from 6 PM onward so I never had need for these (this one was at 9 AM). Also, although I'm used to Mediteranian sun - sun protection cream. Definitely.
3. DON'T OVERESTIMATE TECHNOLOGY
I had a smarthphone and a smartwatch. Smartwatch for time and heart, smarthphone for tempo and music. But, since I fu**ed up my headphones during the race, I also managed to restart my race in the app I'm using. So, instead of also measuring it also on my watch, I had to start again and, of course, I had no idea which tempo I was taking for last couple of kilometers.
I cursed so hard when I realized what happened.
I'd love to see how the whole line would look like for next 2 kilometers.
Also, I knew what I'd listen, but managed to skip tracks (right in the middle of 40-minute long Dream Theater song and I was not in a mood to repeat that). So, trying to catch my breath, trying to catch a bit of shade and trying to calculate my tempo I just thought "FU** it, I'm seeing Bruce in 10 days, let's put some Bruce on".
Result: As I was hauling my ass towards the finish line, Sonata was in the background and Bruce was yelling "SAVE ME NOW!!!!"
Quite appropriate.
I don't think I was able to pull these number even in high school/college when I was way more active (truth be told, I didn't measure time often, only the distance. Smartwatches and smartphones weren't a deal back then).
I'm proud of you, I know exactly how it feels, this time last year my half marathon PB was 2:30-ish and when I did a 2:12-ish in August (long run before the race) I felt like the king of the world
Last month my training regime got even worse instead of better, and tapering I did was quite unintentional. Only goal I had for this half-marathon was to get to the finish line in allowed time (I thought it was 2:30:00 but later realized they didn't have it and now I know why). So, I count this as a huge success. Moreso, this half-marathon was halfway between date when I started running again (New Year) and the marathon I'm planning to run (October 16th). Also, there is a 3/4 marathon (31 km) on August 31st and I guess that'll be my next checkpoint to see if I'm ready.
Yeap it feels like a huge success to me. It's so demanding and you have your family to take care, your job. It's so great that you are still in and you haven't quit the process.
I have strong faith in you. You put a goal and take it all the way. I witnessed it during your epic meme thread.
There's no perfect preparation with full job, kids and family. Hell, there's no perfect preparation with a full job alone. Perfection is an illusion a mind trick that our mind plays with us in order to make us quit and avoid the burden. Mind is the laziest thing in the world.
Just reach there and run the course and it's a great success already.
2. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE WEATHER!
At last refreshment station there was a guy with a hose showering runners.
- Man, why have you worn black?!
- Dude, I had no idea. Fuck me, right?
Weather forecast was cloudy with high possibility of rain and I always wear my dry-fit shirt and short for races (which are black). So, it was 30 degrees Celsius and majority of course didn't have an inch of shade. So yes, next time, light-colored clothes. Also, a hat or sunglasses. I run at night or sundown and races I've applied to were usually from 6 PM onward so I never had need for these (this one was at 9 AM). Also, although I'm used to Mediteranian sun - sun protection cream. Definitely.
I avoid black shirts -shoes. Though in all fairness I wore a black singlet during Shanghai marathon, as I stupidly valued looks instead of comfort. It was end of November but quite a sunny day unfortunately.
I'm proud of you, I know exactly how it feels, this time last year my half marathon PB was 2:30-ish and when I did a 2:12-ish in August (long run before the race) I felt like the king of the world
Yeap it feels like a huge success to me. It's so demanding and you have your family to take care, your job. It's so great that you are still in and you haven't quit the process.
I have strong faith in you. You put a goal and take it all the way. I witnessed it during your epic meme thread.
There's no perfect preparation with full job, kids and family. Hell, there's no perfect preparation with a full job alone. Perfection is an illusion a mind trick that our mind plays with us in order to make us quit and avoid the burden. Mind is the laziest thing in the world.
Just reach there and run the course and it's a great success already.
Keep posting helpful vids and stuff like that in here (I used that Ben Parks stretching video you posted because usually don't know what to do while waiting in line for the race. I know I should stretch every time, but alas... )
Keep posting helpful vids and stuff like that in here (I used that Ben Parks stretching video you posted because usually don't know what to do while waiting in line for the race. I know I should stretch every time, but alas... )
I will!
Static stretching is “after” the run, for before the race better do what we call dynamic stretching, I’ll post some videos.
Generally if due to limited time you have to choose one of the two, always do for post run static stretching!!
If no time, then do the foam rolling when you are home at night, it’s in the same post as Ben Parks.
For runs like Ghost’s you can omit stretching but for marathon block, stretching is as important as the run itself, if not more important as it’s what will prevent injuries.
Currently working on two things to improve my running:
1 - weight loss - I am carrying around far, far more than I need to so I am in the process of dieting to reduce this. Very positive results for the first week and it feels sustainable so far.
2 - cadence - for most runs my cadence settles in the low 160s, so I've been working on bringing it up (this is also something I can do more easily than pace work in a caloric deficit). I was way too ambitious in my first run (straight to 180, fell flat on my face) but I've done a couple since and I'm settling at around 170 which is already an improvement! I'll try to ingrain this as muscle memory before I push it any higher.
Is there a better way to celebrate one’s birthday than going for a run? 8.45 km in 36 minutes to celebrate my 48th birthday, listening to Powerslave to make it even better.
You are steadily reaching the 10k mark and with good pace too. I didn't run today, I plan to run a 10-ish tomorrow and a 15k, my first long run in 2 months on Sunday.
-----
My next silly target is to get the marked shoes to 1000k mark. Nimbus is just for walking and as of Superblast, the midsole is dead on the heel so I only do treadmill with them warm ups and cool downs after the gym.
So it will take some months to reach there.
On the left, Superblast my best show ever, (I purchased 3 pairs of this beauty) and on the right a new release from Mizuno, a trainer with a plate something I usually don't like but after watching a few reviews, I definitely want to try those out.
Mizuno is also from Japan and they are the first to apply plates sandwiched in the midsole for their shoes* (1997!!), much earlier than Nike did (2016), with their wave technology. Like ASICS they are quite innovative for their size applying the revolutionary. The 1988 Olympics were a showcase for Mizuno running shoes, with Carl Lewis, Steve Lewis, Joe DeLoach, and Florence Griffith Joyner all competing in Mizuno shoes. In 1991, Carl Lewis set a new 100m world record of 9.86s in Mizuno spikes.
I'm quite sure (though I can't find a reference) that Mizuno were the first to apply a kind of bespoke-build scheme for shoes 30 years earlier than Nike did, which is why Carl Lewis signed with them in the first place.
*The first to ever apply a plate was Brooks (1989!!!) however the plate was between outsole and midsole, not sandwiched in the midsole as we know them today.
Also for @Spambot :
Pre-running dynamic stretching
I buy all of my running shoes from Mizuno; they tend to be a wider fit which I need, whereas Nike shoes are too tight and have caused me multiple injuries in the past.
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