Conditioning help

[Titansfanmjfink]

Well I'm slowly recovering from my ankle injury and have started running. Now I have 2 problems.

First, mentally, running alone I lack the motivation I had when running with my academy class. Back then I always had someone behind me who I was motivated to stay in front of, and I always had someone infront of me that I would try to catch up to. I could run 4 miles (granted not very fast) without stopping. Now I find myself not as motivated (or maybe as focused). I'll be running and next thing I know I'm walking. And when I evaluate my condition... I'm breathing hard but not extremely hard, and my legs are a little sore. So I need to find a way to mentally get back that drive to push on.

Second problem is the obvious decline of my conditioning. I havent run a timed 1.5m yet (I'm afraid to see what my time is). I need to know what the best plan of attack is to get my time down. I find that when I run my quads and abs get tired fairly quickly. Also my cardio endurance has declined quite a bit. So should I focus on doing longer runs (3+ miles) at a slower pace? Should I focus on HIIT and Fartlek type runs? I know I need to do both, but what would the best schedule be? When I use other cardio machines such as a bike or eliptical, should I use high resistance and go for longer times? What type of weight training should I do?

Let me say that I do not enjoy running very much but I will do it as much as necessary to reach my goals. I dont have anyone I can run with right now so I'm stuck running solo. I prefer street running to track running and have a semi-hilly bike path near me. I have had some people suggest putting military cadence on my ipod and running to that as it sets a constant pace to run at. Does anyone have any opinion/experience with this? I need a lot of help!

[JCP1976]

I have heard that a good running program consists of running for distance several times a week (at a the faster pace you are comfortable with) and running for speed several times a week (running as fast as possible for a mile for example).

Keep in mind I hate running and can only run 3.5 miles at a 9 1/2 minute per mile pace right now, so I am not an expert. But when I started 6 weeks ago I could only run 2 laps, so I have seen good improvement.

[Shurta]

What's the goal or standard that you're trying to reach?

[Titansfanmjfink]

1.5m in 11:58- The fastest I ran it was in December and that was about 12:45... probably could've shaved another 10 or 15 seconds off. But, like I said I haven't run regularly since the middle of December

[MDEMT280]

I've been doing both distance and Fartlek (hehehehe). So far, I've taken about 4 minutes off of my 1.5m time.

I personally don't do well running in a group, because I try very hard to keep up with the people in front of me, and I blow myself out early. (We have some running freaks in our class). Now, I just pop on some music and go, maintaining the fastest pace that will allow me to complete the run without dying or having to walk.

I was thinking about adding cadences to my mp3 player, but I haven't yet. Right now, I really prefer running to movie soundtracks. As corny as it is, I get a bit of a boost running to really dramatic scores, like from "Pirates of the Carribean." (No, I don't have "Rocky" or "Chariots of Fire" on there... yet...)

And, as morbid as it may be, I find that one thing that really motivates me to get out there and train hard is to listen to officer down radio recordings, watch dash cam videos, etc. It's a very sobering reminder that we're not just training to pass a PT test. I don't ever want to have to tell a grieving parent that, "I'm sorry, the reason your son/daughter is gone is because I got a barely passing score on the PT test, and I was content with that."

[JCP1976]

Maybe you posted it before, but what type of ankle injury do you have? Make sure that you don't overdo it and end up hurting it more....

[Titansfanmjfink]

I torn some cartilage in my ankle. Doc said I can run on it as much as the pain will let me... said the injury wont get any worse.

[Rhinod56]

There are several things you can do to help stave or delay the bordem and horrid thoughts of running. Daydreaming (just make sure to keep eye out for cars and potholes), take a cd player or mp3 player, use a treadmill and watch tv.
As for getting back into the groove.
I've never heard of Fartlek.
But depending on how many times your running a week, I would limit the amount of HIIT sessions you do. It is very taxing on your system, which is why it is so successful and recommended for fitness and fat loss. I'd say if your running 3x a week. only do HIIT 1x. if your doing 4-5x a week, I'd alternate and do it maybe 1-2x a week.
If your goal is to increase your 1.5mile time. I'd start out with doing 2MI at a comfortable pace that doesn't force to you pass out or slow down. And depending on how good you are at pushing yourself and your body, just go for timed 1.5MI run without slowing down. Or add a couple minutes to what you were doing before your injury and lack of exercise and calculate out your pace. Once you get to an acceptable time/pace every few weeks or so, try speeding up a few 10th's of a MPH for the entire run.
I do most of my running on a treadmill so its easier to see my speed/distance/time. Every couple weeks or so I try to up my speed a couple tenths for the last half or so of the run, and I also sprint out the last 1/8mile or so before I begin my cool down.
If the ankle is just a little sore, try riding it out, but make sure to give it good stretch before and after your run, and take good vitamins. If it becomes rather painful, stop, or at least slow down till it stops being so overwhelming. You will have to work through some tenderness/soreness, otherwise it will never be right, but you don't want to make it worse either.
Hope this gives you some ideas.

[Titansfanmjfink]

Thanks for the replies... here's what I've been doing for the past few weeks, let me know what you think.

Monday: Total body (but upperbody and core focused) strength training, 1.5m run timed (did in 13:22 yesterday on treadmill)

Tuesday: 3 mile run (today I did it in roughly 30-32 minutes, however I think I started out to fast as I started doing run/walk intervals at about 1.75 miles- but it may also be due to the 45mph wind gusts we had)

Wednesday: Off or non-impact cardio

Thursday: Total body (but upperbody and core focused) strength training, 30min cardio machine circuit (max 10min on treadmill, then eliptical/bike/stairclimber)

Friday: Fartleks-at least 25 minutes

Saturday: Minimum 2 mile hill workout (just jogging a pretty hilly course)

Sunday: off

Now the reason I dont do much strength training for my legs is because I've some people on running websites say that strength training their legs limits their running gains and even slows them down. Anyone have an opinion on this? I was thinking of adding some leg calisthenics after my tuesday run... just some squats/lunges/scissor kicks/wall sits type of thing.

[The13ig13adWolf]

Now the reason I dont do much strength training for my legs is because I've some people on running websites say that strength training their legs limits their running gains and even slows them down. Anyone have an opinion on this? I was thinking of adding some leg calisthenics after my tuesday run... just some squats/lunges/scissor kicks/wall sits type of thing.

Poppycock! Ever look at a sprinter's legs?

P.S. Don't do scissor kicks in front of people ;).

[GrayPatriot]

Poppycock! Ever look at a sprinter's legs?

P.S. Don't do scissor kicks in front of people ;).

I did the 100m, 200m and the 4*100m relay in HS. A sprinter's work out is nothing like a distance runners workout.


Watch a track and field event and look at how big the 100m sprinters are and then watch how the runners get smaller as the distance increases.

Trust what runners say on a runner's website about leg workouts. If you go heavy on squats, romanian DL, hack squats, and leg presses don't expect any gains, but losses on your middle to long distance runs.

I have a HM in a few weeks and I am am reducing my leg workout intensity as I feel it slows down my training and time.

[The13ig13adWolf]

Watch a track and field event and look at how big the 100m sprinters are and then watch how the runners get smaller as the distance increases.

That was my point.