Steemit-runners: I need your advice
Hello runners of Steemit! This morning I went for a run and I am pretty happy with my results. I make it a point not to run with my phone - I got it from work and it is annoyingly heavy. Also, I don't wear a runners watch as I have believed it will stress me more than benefit me, although I think I have to reconsider this notion. So on the days I want to measure my performance, I simply register the time I leave the car, and when I return. Then, upon returning home I look up in a map in my computer the distance I've run. I know it's backward and a little old school, but up until now I have decided this is better for me. I have this idea that my running is just for health reasons and enjoyment, and that I don't care about times and speed. But it's proving not to be true. I've realized I'm pretty competitive with myself, and finding myself checking my times more and more frequently - well, to be honest, on most runs recently. So I might have to start looking at watches. If anyone have any suggestions to make I'd be more than happy to hear your experiences and recommendations.
But what I really want your advice on today is in terms of my running. Today I ran 6.5 km in exactly 40 minutes. This I am quite happy about, and I think I've come a long way on my running. But I still feel there is room for improvement. I'd like to run a longer distance, and the 10 km seems within reach. I felt quite tired at the end of my run today, and although I probably would have survived another 3.5 km, it would have been at a much lower pace.
So where do I proceed from here? How do I manage to maintain this speed for another 3.5 km? Is it simply running the distance repeatedly and slowly increasing my speed as I get used to it? Or would you recommend interval training to increase speed? Those of you who frequently run 10 km plus, how did you work your way up there? Any advice is highly appreciated. :)
A happy runner
This is where I run
Hello! I decided myself 9 months ago to buy a watch because running with a phone is not really convenient (and you are scared to break it under the rain). The thing I recommend to my friends is to buy a watch on a second hand website (in Belgium we use a lot 2ememain.com). It seems that a lot of people want the newest watch so they resell the old one. To give you an idea, I bought a Garmin Forerunner 220 for 70€ but she was worth 300 when she came out.
For you run, I would follow the advice given by @run.vince.run
hi @romaincrx - that is a brilliant idea. Getting a runners gadget AND benefit the environment all in one go. :) I often try to buy second hand if I can, but hadn't really considered it for electronics. Good idea! :)
It's the opposite for me. I buy almost all my electronics second hand. You always find some people crazy about a product and change it every year (iPhones for example) so it's quite easy to find a good deal :)
Hi @lil-mich great post and thanks for sharing.
With regards to your running and improving to run 10km, I honestly think you would be able to do this now, but your right it doesn't hurt to prepare and I think you have a good idea of what you need to do already. I also think you should be able to keep the enjoyment you have for running while improving. You didn't mention home many times a week you run, but I think if you ran 3 times a week, you would be able to do the following:
Yes, to do the above training, you would need to probably get a watch, but having said that, you would only need something basic to record your time as you are running.
I hope this helps and would love to hear your progress...Let me know if you need some ideas on running watches(Let me know a rough price as well) and I would be happy to give some ideas.
Keep up the hard work and speak to you soon.
Regards @run.vince.run
thanks for your great suggestion- yay, I have a plan! It sounds like a good mix of distance and speed in addition to something I am already used to. It makes good sense. :) Recently I have run 4 times a week, but that's really just because of all the bank holidays in May. Over time 3 is more realistic. If you have any recommendations on running watches I'd love to hear them. Not wanting to spend a fortune, but if I am to invest in one I think it should do more than just count the number of steps. Thanks for your general encouragement - being part of the runners society here is a great motivation for me. :)
Hey @lil-mich no trouble at all...We are all pretty keen to help and look forward to hearing about your future running. Give me a day and I will give you some details of watches that you could get.
Regards @run.vince.run
Me again, I found this post and it gives a really good list of cheaper watches:
https://thewiredrunner.com/cheap-running-watches/
I have owned the TomTom and the Garmin Forerunner 25in the past and currently use the Suunto Ambit 3. it gives you a good list of watches at different prices with different features as you may not be interested in GPS or heart rate as yet but a good stop watch will help with your training.
Shout out if you have any questions.
Regards @run.vince.run
Thanks for the list @run.vince.run! 😄 I’ll look into it when I get home from work. I feel I could easily get carried away with functionality (which perhaps I wouldn’t even use) so it’s good to have several options. 😄
Hello my friend. First of all, thanks for following me. I have returned and done the same. I find your post today very interesting. You talked about an activity watch and interval training. I grappled with both these things last year before the winter set in. I am not a runner myself, I quite frankly dislike running. I prefer cycling. I have a Garmin Edge which I strapped to my arm - a bit bulky, but less problematic and much more accurate than a phone. Coupled with a cycling Heart Rate monitor, it worked great. You really need these metrics (speed, pace and HR) if you want to do interval training. It makes it much easier and you feel much more motivated seeing accurate data while exercising.
I understand you may not wish to wear the watch all the time. I feel the same way. So I would suggest you get the Amazfit Pace Bip. It is not a watch many would wear all the time, it's light, inexpensive, battery lasts very long .. it's an all-round great device. I will probably get one this year myself.
I ran intervals for about two months and it really helped me increase my performance. I do the same when cycling too. You get to see the results if you have an activity tracker device. Otherwise, it is pretty hard to see the progress.
For the moment, I haven't got back to running or cycling, but when I do, I will post about it. I hope you will keep an eye out for that post ;-) Let's try together as steemians to get more healthy.
thanks for your advice @oneazania I will definitely have a look into the watch you recommended :) And I will keep an eye out for your post when you get into cycling again. I enjoy being active, but it's quite normal that the inclination to do so comes and goes. I hope you find the motivation you need. For me, being part of a Steemit community of runners has proven a great motivation. Perhaps there is a similar community for cycling?
Hey @oneazania I agree the Amazfit rage of watches provide some really good functionality for a reasonable price.
Regards @run.vince.run
Hei! Jeg har hatt Garmin Forerunner 235 i et par år nå og er fremdeles strålende fornøyd. Den har GPS, pulsmåler på håndleddet (denne er dog ikke nøyaktig nok til at jeg ville brukt den hvis jeg trente etter puls, men du får sånn høvelig oversikt over pulssoner), og den har løping/løping inne/sykling/annet som meny. Du kan også legge inn intervalløkter på forhånd så den sier ifra når du skal ha pause og starte opp igjen. Det eneste jeg savner med den er at den ikke måler høyde over havet, men det får jeg jo når jeg synker med Strava etterpå.
Takk for fin anbefaling - var noen andre som også har anbefalt den, så jeg må sette meg litt inn de ulike klokkene 😊
Vet mange er fornøyd med Suunto sine også.
Did you miss your run? It's not too late... go and run!
Source for gif
Vote for your running author of the week 15!
Resteemed by @runningproject
I always run with my phone tracking me as I like the stats. I have a Xaomi MiBand watch that just counts steps. Something like that may be enough if you just want a rough estimate of what you did.
If you want to go further you could try doing it at a slower pace so your body gets used to going for longer. Speed can come later. I just gradually worked my way up and now I can do an hour plus with no issues. Mind you I'll be doing my longest run on Sunday with a half marathon.
Sounds like good advice, I’ll try going slower but longer, gradually working my way up. I guess it’s not just the body that needs to get used to it, but also the head. 😄 Best of luck on Sunday with your half marathon! 😁
Hi, I used to run 10km every week until I set myself the goal of running a marathon. What I found important was increasing the distance slowly but surely and then going for speed. Technique is also very important and something I learnt whilst doing a free course by a local brand of sports stores. I see that the terrains are quite similar to where I do my long runs, but the frequency and also having shorter runs during the week helped my build up my stamina. Now I'm improving the distances even more, but that's due to a solid foundation. I have a strict plan I stick to, but I do feel at the end of my long runs that I can do more still ... I really believe my strong basis helped me there.
Until 3 years ago I never ran and I've eased myself into it slowly. I bought a Garmin Fenix watch just under 3 years ago as I like stats and accuracy and the Garmin also had built in GPS, a possibility to measure wintersports and take it swimming. Now 3 years later it's still going strong, I've considered upgrading to the Fenix 5, but the differences are minimal and my watch does so well that I have opted that out for the time being. I also like the fact that I can change the straps, I can use it as kind of a business watch, but usually I use a velcro band on it, which is comfortable and easy to put on/take off.
I hope this helps. Hook me up if you have more questions.
Wow, that is very impressive - a marathon. That takes a lot of determination. :) I am trying to ease my way into longer distances. I have a tendency to start off too fast, so I have to mind keeping the pace at a level where I'll finish without having to go slower than I would like. I really want to keep building that motivation. And I think a watch could be helpful. The Fenix 5 is a little pricier than what I had in mind, but the Garmin 235 is sailing up as a clear favorite. I had a look at the new Fitbit Versa and the Suunto Fitness 3 as I like them having more of girlie look and it's something I could wear all the time, but they both lacked the GPS.
Thanks for posting and looking forward to follow your journey towards your marathon. :)
I can really recommed any garmin, regardless the type the stats are awesome and garmin connect is a huge benefit imho. It helped me going further and faster since I started running. Speed is not an issue, just try and maintain it and keep going a bit further each time. I don't actually think that you have to slow down.
Good luck!