The Great North Run

quote:

Originally posted by John Channing:
Without ever expecting to get a place, I accepted a challenge from my wife to enter the draw for the Great North Run. So I find myself less than 9 months away from running a half marathon having never run more than 10k and that was "Run the World", a distant memory some 20 years ago which my body has long since forgotten. I've set myself a target of breaking 2 hours and start from a base of "average" (for a 34 year male with a desk job) fitness. I am a member of a gym, but what next? How do I go about reaching my goal?
John

Hiya john, I have taken part in the GNR although this was some 10 years or so since I last participated, I had participated on about 4 occasions and found the experience brilliant, my personal best was around 1 hour 45, but I was around 30 ish years of age then, I am now 45 knocking on 46
What I can tell you is going to be without knowing a great deal about your fitness, the current fitness activity, you do mention it was about 20 years ago since you last ran, you are looking at averaging 9.5 minute miles to achieve your goal.
Given your age at the moment, I see no reason why you should not achieve the target with some steady training between now and september or whenever the run is.
Take things easy to start, the place people fall down is when they set a high goal and set out too fast, believe me, if you looked at me now you would not take me as a one time runner, but when I did run I would find myself passing people who had set off too fast.
The course is brilliant, but I will warn you now, the final mile is a killer
You approach it down a hill, so your tired legs are playing catch up as you bear left for the final mile run along the sea front,with the north sea air hitting you from the right
You can see the finishing line but it seems a lot more than a mile.
I would suggest starting a training regime with walk and jog, start with a five minute walk before you break into the first jog, and always finish with a 5 minute cool down to ease the lactic acid build up.
Try here http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/
I can personally endorse this magazine, they have lots of tips for complete novice, which being honest with you is where you have to consider yourself, please do not take this personal , it is not meant to be, it is just that after a while of inactivity it is better to start from scratch, your partner and yourself will reap the benefits if you start easily.
Where about are you anyway? could I be persuaded out of retirement? where did I put them Puma trainers?
Best wishes john and heartfelt good luck for the GNR, you will if you take the advice enjoy the day, it is fantastic, the geordies are brilliant
Best wishes

The furthest I've ever run is 2km. I doubt I'll ever go beyond that.

Good luck John anyway.

Van the man,

quote:

The course is brilliant, but I will warn you now, the final mile is a killer

I've heard this from my wife's father who ran the GNR five times in the past. I've been to the beach a Southshields a few times because my wife's family are from County Durham so I know what to expect. I'm in London BTW, so probably too far apart to train together.
John

Hey, running's cool - the best way to get fit I reckon. I started about 2 and a half years ago after 36 sedentary years, and could manage about 20 minutes until I collapsed in a wheeziheap. Then I sussed out how to do it. I discovered that with extreme economy of movement I could run and run without tiring. I would take much shorter running steps, raising the feet as little as possible asbove the ground, expending as little energy as possible. In this way I was soon able to go for 10 miles without feeling exhausted or out of breath at the end of it. Of course the time isn't gonna break any records - about 5min per km I was managing, but once you know you can go the distance you can slowly put more push into your running without killing yourself, and get the time down.

And try to keep your breathing slow and controlled, and keep a smile on your face as you do it. Torture can be fun isn't it.

John - Obviously I don't know you but that sounds like a realistic target.

Basically you'll need to train to develop aerobic fitness, muscle strength, and endurance, without getting injuries.

I'd second the Runners' World recommendation - loads of good advice for beginners and experienced runners alike. It's well worth subscribing because a lot of the best stuff on their web site is subscriber-only content.

I also would also suggest you should look at running clubs. I joined one about 5 years ago and haven't looked back. Then I could just about jog slowly for about 50 minutes, but the club sessions gave running a structure and I quickly improved and did the GNR last year in 1:23. A good club will be real support network with coaches, chance to run with others, information about local races, ideas for training etc. If like me you're juggling with other things the regular committment to running on 'club night' is a really good way to keep going. Many clubs cater very well for the needs of beginners and recreational runners and are a bit of a hidden resource.

Take a look at http://www.serpentine.org.uk/advice/begin/club.php for example - I'm not a member but I do take part in some of their races.

I guess the other advice would be not to get too hooked on the distance for the time being. Concentrate on bulding up distance and speed gradually. Although 2 hours for a half marathon may seem not particularly quick you will need to be very comfortable at that pace in order to complete the distance. One of the best ways is to get used to running somewhat quicker. So you should think about a couple of intermediate goals - perhaps a 5km and 10km race, between now and then.

That will also give you a good idea of where you are compared with your target. Eg if in a few months you're able to do a 10k race in about 53 minutes or less then you're probably on target and well placed to reach your goal with the right endurance training. There are hundreds of road races around. In the three months before the race you can then concentrate on doing the longer runs to get the endurance you will need.

In the meantime - I'd go with the 'run walk' idea to get started. Some beginners get disillusioned because they find they hit a 'barrier' (20 minutes, 5 minutes or whatever)at which point they stop and give up. One answer is to schedule in some walking. Time the run and walk element and as you progress you'll find you need to walk less. Walking is definately not cheating! Just plan the run / walk intervals in advance of your run.

Arctic Monkey's advice may also work for you - personally though I don't like that shuffling style. I tend to get injured unless I do a mix of slow runs, quicker runs, and some hills for strength. That way you build efficiency (running economy) as well as fitness.

Start keeping a training diary - you'll be amazed how easy it is to forget how far you've come.

Find a nice convenient circuit or lap, say three or four miles, time yourself around it (run - walking for now) and come back to it from time to time - a great way to demonstrate you are actually getting somewhere.

Good luck,

Ian

HI J

I ran the Dublin marathon for the 1st time last year and was probably in a similar situation to you.

Some Do's and Dont's

DO
Buy a good pair of running shoes (Asics, New balance or Mi-aidias (http://www.adidas.com/products/miadidas/content/container.asp?strCountry_adidascom=us)
integrate the running into your general fitness programme and build slowly;
Look to run a few warm up events priort to the GNR
Look to do lots of your training on grass rather than on the road; and
Start your mileage build up early (now);


Don't
Let other life events get in the way of your training;
Overtrain;

Good luck P

John,

How's it going...?

Serpentine Running club's Last Friday 5k races in Hyde Park are great if you happen to be in London on Friday lunchtimes.... End of May .. you know you want to...

Ian