Long Run Nick: A Gift to Newbies--and even veteran runners. (Read 2781 times)

Is speed relative to the individual person? How would you define slowing down? For example, my best 10K pace is 8:30 mm. What would be slow for me on daily runs?

I think it should be more effort based. Speed is a correlate to effort. The pace is individualized. The traditional answer is that low effort running means you should be able to sing a song without straining while you are running. Some use heart rate to help guide them.

I'm a noob, b/c I just started running this year. I dunno if I'm a 6 minute miler -- I can do one mile faster than 6, but I haven't broken 18:30 on 5K yet. I cannot possibly read most of runningahead -- even this thread is pages and pages. I'm not a reader with a running problem, I can't read a zillion pages. Or a zillion groups. But I was exceedingly entertained by this thread -- I thought Trent and whoever else were very quickwitted in their responses. I mean, I liked the opening post, and I liked the responses even more. Run like your hair is one fire -- I mean, in certain circumstances, that could be not just entertaining, but life-saving advice. I laughed out loud one of the posts, like this: > > As I said, there are lots of boobs. Boatloads of them, really. > That is why I run fast. I'm chasing 'em. Also, McMillan has too fast paces for me too, at last in my mind. If I round a road test mile I did this autumn up to 5:35 for uncertainty, McMillan gives me easy runs at 7:42 to 8:12. Ha. Not what I call easy. I did 20K this weekend at 8:20 working down to 8:00, because I was running with someone who runs faster than me -- so I feel like I can say authoritatively that that isn't "easy" for me at all - that was some real work. I had to break off and take the fifth 5K slow -- and when I say slow, I mean like 11:30, nice and slow and comfortable recovery (and I was still tired after a mile or two of that). My idea of easy for me has been to watch my pace and make a point of keeping it no lower than 9. That is how I've been doing easy recently -- after the first mile, I pick a number and my goal is to not go under it. I kinda got this way when I looked at the low-HR stuff, and then revisited some running advice columns, and looked at my training logs (not complete, as I only started filling them in when I stumbled onto logs here, and found that they're fun), and noticed that I had a lot of fast and interval and racing, and very little easy and long anymore. I used to do long in the summer, after I started, and after I got to where I could do more than a mile or two, but then I got distracted by 5K races (and how fun it is to race, whee, I do like them), and I kinda forgot about long. Plus I was sticking by a self-principle I had of only running every other day, and I was meeting some people for intervals, so that just didn't leave many opportunities for slow. So now that racing season is over, I'm embracing long and easy runs -- at least for as long as I enjoy them, I guess. I got no gifts from decades of experience to pass on -- well, I guess I have decades of experience avoiding running. My advice is stay on the bandwagon. If you're a non-runner with a draw to running like I was, you gotta do your steps and call your buddies if you even think of putting on sneakers and jogging, cause I fell off the bandwagon once last spring, and here I am now, way off the bandwagon, running up and down skid row, just bought two new pair of running shoes. The disease owns me now baby. No hope. See what happens if you fall off the bandwagon -- the running demons lurk waiting for victims.

I heart Claire.

Merry Christmas, Claire! Hoping you would stop by

who's JK ? Oh and I heart Claire too.

JK is JakeKnight. Do a search of the forums for JakeKnight. He was a very popular and ... colorful poster here for a good while. MTA: for newbies, you should be aware that there's a search function. Look in the upper right hand of the screen when you're in the forums. It'll show posts in public forums and groups and groups that you're a member of.

Janell...i was just kidding. Its good to some signs of the Gorilla.

D'oh! Sorry - got confused on the timeline for you and him... Yes, but it was too brief... Jake, when are you going to bring your monkey-butt back here and stir the pot some more?

"Perhaps, and I suspect you are right. But when you introduce yourself to a new community that is already on edge due to the flood of new folks that they had welcomed, and then do so with a title that reads as "I AM A GIFT", it sends exactly the opposite message. I suspect from what everybody has said that LRN is a good and caring fellow, and that he is probably in shock at the hubbub that his post caused. But then again, we are boobs." OK I am not veteran running, I am "newbie" and new in this forum, but veteran expert does´t mean, there are people who spend their whole lives trying to achieve something without, in this case we must applaud the consistency and perseverance, but not follow the example of always be without evolve. New people how I, with many eager to overcome our goals, we want facts on our doubts, we have something, I take very seriously my runs and training course with less experience, the true veterans of the "newbie" we want good advice, to move forward, and I absolutely respect 100% good advice. So."Trent good for you, and Nick well good for you too" But... I want to go faster each time, and there is always the risk of injury, but it is a risk that must be taken if we want to improve (of course without abusing the physical limitations), but we must give that extra effort, we must remain focused only the targets and move away from injury as possible and equally enjoy your step, muscle pain, etc., and maintain the desire to move ahead the next day. Thank all veterans, not as veterans, new and more by farums, and RA. Happiness for all, and forward.