My name is Neil. I’m 41 and in the process of losing a great deal of weight. I used to love to run when I was in the Army so I am slowly getting back into it. My 12 year-old son and I are in training for a local 5K over Thanksgiving and I found a work-out program that starts at 1.5 miles and works up from there. We have done the route five times and have taken 3 minutes off our first time. The workout calls for us to run three days a week. On one of the off days we circuit train and on another we have an easy walk or run, then we take two days off. Does this sound like a good training program for a couple of beginners? Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks!
Neil
Neil,
Congratulations on the weight loss! It’s great to hear that you’re willing to train all fall for this 5k. The fact that you’ve already seen your times improve is no doubt motivating, but have faith that there is more fitness to be gained.
The type of program you’re talking about is great for the “couch to 5K” runner, but if you’ve been in the Army you can definitely handle more. [Read more →]
By incorporating all three planes of motion, the Lunge Warm-Up workout gets you warmed up to run while also helping to strengthen your core. It includes five exercises:
-Front Lunge
-Front Lunge with Twist
-Side Lunge
-Back and to the Side
-Back Lunge
Watch the video above to see how to perform each exercise properly, then click here to download a PDF detailing the entire routine. Click here to watch all of the videos in Nike’s General Strength series.
Note: Jay’s training tips for the next several weeks will focus on the simple fact that as you gain fitness, you’ll need to make some minor tweaks to your training.
Your heart and lungs may say yes, but are your legs ready?
Sunday morning I had the pleasure of running on a dirt road outside of Rollinsville, Colorad…just under the Continental Divide at 9,000 ft. I ran my modest eight mile “long run” mostly by myself, starting in the middle of the road and simply running out 4 miles and back 4 miles. “Rollinesville,” as the run is called, gradually gains elevation for 8 miles, until the road ends at a railroad tunnel—which is somewhat surreal because you come to a rest at the base of 12,000 ft. peaks. At this point, however, THE ENTIRE run is net downhill and this is the problem; if you’re fit and if you’re running with others (there were a couple dozen runners on the road and I was able to run with them for a couple of miles), it’s easy to push a bit and hold on, even when you’re running controlled enough to talk.
So what’s the problem? The problem is that if you’re like me [Read more →]
Each week I do a Q&A at NikeRunning.com. I enjoy the Q&A and I firmly believe it makes me a better coach as the runners who write in cover a wide spectrum of abilities, ages and life obligations.
I recently began running again after taking about a year off (had a baby) and I’ve set a goal to run my first half marathon in 12 weeks. Is this a realistic goal? I’m 31 and in good (not great) shape. Right now I’m running 4-5 days per week [Read more →]
The third part of the Running Times series on General Strength includes leg lifts as part of the Pedestal routine, as well as the Cannonball cool-down. You can view the progression from RunningTimes.com here. Maybe more importantly, you can download an iPod/iTunes compatible file (size is 69 MB) here.
Feel free to ask questions in the comments section below.
Here is the second part of the Running Times series on General Strength, a perfect complement for your summer running training. You can view the progression from RunningTimes.com here. Maybe more importantly, you can download an iPod/iTunes compatible file (.m4v and 58.5 MB) here.
I went out to the box yesterday to retrieve some mail when I saw one of my neighbors out for a run. As he neared, it was obvious he was laboring: his breath was coming in soft gasps and he wore a pained expression. I nodded hello, turned, and walked back to the house, wondering if he was enjoying himself in the slightest.
I was living in Knoxville when I ran my first road race—finishing 4th overall in a 15K–at the not-so-tender age of 25. Though I had played youth-level, high school and collegiate soccer, I didn’t know much about how to train to compete in the road races I found I enjoyed. [Read more →]
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to write an article on General Strength for the July/August edition of Running Times. The article discusses the importance of General Strength exercises for both adult runner and HS runners. In addition to the article I have written a progression of exercises that you can follow this summer. You can watch the video below or you can click here to download a iPod/iTunes/iPhone compatible .m4v file. Enjoy!
What do you do to warm-up for track workouts? And why do you do what you do? As a coach I’m very focused on the warm-up, not only because it’s important physiologically to get ready for the workout, but it’s also important for athletes to shift into workout mode. Most workouts will, at some point, get uncomfortable, putting the athlete in a state of discomfort that will help them race faster down the road. I had the pleasure of writing an article for RunningTimes.com on this issue which you can read here. If you have any questions or comments simply ask them below and I’ll respond as soon as I can.
Here is an e-mail message I received from one of our team members in New Jersey (this is an actual client, not an actor):
Hi Jonas.
I ran a 15k yesterday in Central Park. This time I took your advice and ran the first five miles at about an 8 minute pace and then picked it up, finishing at 70 min, 58 seconds, which came out to a 7:37 overall pace, which was 21 seconds per mile faster than the race 2 weeks ago. Also, I wasn’t nearly as tired at the end of the run.
Regards, Joe
Negative-splitting—that is, running the second half of a race or workout faster than the first half—is a tried-and-true method of maximizing racing and training performances. In fact, virtually all world records [Read more →]
