Emi inspired running/workout

[Kilo]

Music really helps that much?
I'm getting an Ipod from an aunt that went overseas, I really want to see how running with music feels like (Sometimes I began humming tunes without noticing, but I didn't really listen to anything because I don't have anything that plays music except for my PC)
Also, long time no update because there is nothing to update
I went through some medical exams to see if I had a heart disease, aparently I don't.
And the rain has been making it impossible to run everyday

[ZXRN]

Music really helps that much?
I'm getting an Ipod from an aunt that went overseas, I really want to see how running with music feels like (Sometimes I began humming tunes without noticing, but I didn't really listen to anything because I don't have anything that plays music except for my PC)
Also, long time no update because there is nothing to update
I went through some medical exams to see if I had a heart disease, aparently I don't.
And the rain has been making it impossible to run everyday

Don't sing when running. It really reduces the air on your lungs. lol, that was a pretty crappy run for me.

[ZXRN]

@ZXRN just for the record I live in a really crowded place in Spain, thank god there's something like that, even though there's cemment, since couples and such go there for a walk.
Try going to a park or something like that. About running, I guess that's up to you, if you want to build stamina faster maybe you should go for it, run like hell, then just walk slow, but if you wanna keep the rhythm try jogging and walk fast then, so there's not such a huge different. Anyway I'm no expert, let's wait for someone to clear this up.

I think i'll go jogging then running fast. I think that should at least build a little stamina. Running like hell...didn't work out as I'd hoped. Ran for 45 sec and I was already gasping for air. (maybe I should go easy then?)

[Megumeru]

I think i'll go jogging then running fast. I think that should at least build a little stamina. Running like hell...didn't work out as I'd hoped. Ran for 45 sec and I was already gasping for air. (maybe I should go easy then?)

...are you sprinting? The schedule only said to jog or 'run', not sprinting.

If you sprint for the entire 30 minutes up to 5K, then you will run as fast as KENYAN! People will think you're KENYAN! And you will be deported back to KENYA..!!!" drink power thirst
If you have a thread mill, then run at a speed of say...9.5 to 10.0 and walk/jog at a speed of 4.5 to 5.0. The environment I live in isn't exactly a good place to run in, so most of the time I visit the gym to exercise and use the thread mill instead; concrete and asphalt are terrible running locations.

[Manman]

I think i'll go jogging then running fast. I think that should at least build a little stamina. Running like hell...didn't work out as I'd hoped. Ran for 45 sec and I was already gasping for air. (maybe I should go easy then?)

...are you sprinting? The schedule only said to jog or 'run', not sprinting.

If you sprint for the entire 30 minutes up to 5K, then you will run as fast as KENYAN! People will think you're KENYAN! And you will be deported back to KENYA..!!!" drink power thirst
If you have a thread mill, then run at a speed of say...9.5 to 10.0 and walk/jog at a speed of 4.5 to 5.0. The environment I live in isn't exactly a good place to run in, so most of the time I visit the gym to exercise and use the thread mill instead; concrete and asphalt are terrible running locations.

That actually made me laugh.

anyway, starting week 8 on Friday, so I'm almost there. wooo

[Althamus]

If you sprint for the entire 30 minutes up to 5K, then you will run as fast as KENYAN! People will think you're KENYAN! And you will be deported back to KENYA..!!!" drink power thirst

And this is why I love the internet. If I'd said the same thing to some of my IRL friends, they would not have gotten it at all. By contrast, I got the reference, thought it was awesome, and needed to go rewatch it again 8D

I did my 100PU exercises yesterday, but was absolutely exhausted before I started, I was having trouble staying awake. First day of new job et al. But I figured since it was Wednesday, I needed to exercise, without taking into account things like "I was knackered". Too tired to think.

Anyways, I actually came pretty close. I was meant to do 19/19/22/22/18/18/22/40+ (MANY SETS NOW). First day of MANY SETS. I did 19/19/22/22/18/18/22/30. Only missed 10 off the last set. Hopefully I'll feel more ENERGETIC on Friday, and do the Friday set without a problem so I can justify going on to next week.

[Sin of my sins]

I'm done with the half marathon! I finished with the time of 1;49;67, so I improved by over 10 minutes from the last year.

[NoOne3]

I've actually had many players in the past, but now I'm stuck with a classic Zune ( yes it's huge but it fits my pocket, doesn't bother me and works ok). Maybe you could try something like this:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/sports-usb ... een-106055
or if you don't want to get a card:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/usb-rechar ... -2gb-30107
I'll probably get a hold on one of this sometime soon

I don't really like those, they're somewhat cumbersome, comparing to usual headphones, and hard to use comparing to even the simplest player with song display, plus I'm a real RockBox fan by now, and look only for those devices, which can run it. I tested the new Fuze+, at the store and only confirmed what I've read on the forums - Sansa really made a mess with this one, touch-slide controls sucks big time. I think I'll just hunt for another "classic" Fuze, for now.

As for Emi, I did 17min yesterday. Tommorow I'll try for 19, or if I feel really cocky, I might do the 21min of week5.
I set my goals small.

[Mirrormn]

Today, I ran.

Long story: It started with the charity 5k I went to ~2 weeks ago. I tried to time my run, but my phone ran out of batteries during the race. My sister, who ran the race with me, claimed she had finished in 28 minutes, and I was 3 minutes ahead of her, meaning I clocked in at 25 minutes. I found this a little unbelievable considering my rather slow pace, so since then, I've been meaning to find an accurate 5k route to run and time myself properly.

This Monday, I went to my local university's track, and ran 11 laps of 500 yards (which is 5.029km). It took me 34:58. A bit disappointing, but definitely more believable than 25 minutes. I don't know if my sister's timing was way off, or the course distance of the charity 5k was way off, but that time was obviously completely wrong.

So, today, I decided to push myself to go faster. I normally jog with a pretty fast and short gait, with most of the forward motion coming from pulling my body forward using the calf muscles. Today, I forced myself to adopt a much longer and slower gait. I focused on making my strides as long as possible, and as a result, most of my forward motion ended up coming from pushing my body forward at the end of a stride using the thigh muscles. This gait, although much slower in frequency, seemed to increase my overall speed significantly. I definitely increased the length of my normal 30-minute run, probably by 0.25-0.5 miles, even with the 2 minute walking break I took in the middle. This break was necessary because the new gait was highly dependent on muscles in my thighs that I haven't really used for running before today. Specifically, my vastus medialis* (inner thigh) muscles seemed to be the main source of locomotion for my new gait, much more so than any other running motion I've undertaken before; even sprints (which I have often been spontaneously breaking into while walking around, as of late) and jogging uphill seem to depend more on the vastus intermedius* (front thigh) muscles.

That being said, my new running gait seemed more efficient than my old fast-jogging gait. At a rough estimate, I'd say I went 10% faster while only using 5% more energy. I feel like if I had been using this gait from the beginning of the Couch to 5k, it would probably use less energy than the fast-jogging gait, while being considerably faster. In short, I'm pretty sure I've been running the wrong way for 10 weeks, and I regret it a little bit. I'm going to try to use the new gait from now on, and I'm going to revisit the track on Monday to time myself using it. I'm betting I can get much closer to 5k in 30 minutes.

TL;DR: If you're currently in the early weeks of the Cto5k program, I would recommend that you push yourself to run faster using long, infrequent strides. It won't be much more difficult than using a more rapid but slower jogging gait, and you'll appreciate the increase in overall speed later on.

Edit: At least I think these are the right muscles. I'm no anatomist.

[MoogleDee]

Still here, mostly lurking.

I'm a little bit disappointed with myself in that in my runs after finishing the program, I still haven't pushed myself for the full 6k. Part of it I blame on crazy schedules, running in the morning after a lousy dinner, weather, etc. I'm thinking about finding a new route that doesn't involve a big hill at the start, (I ran that hill all through the program sans treadmill days), so it doesn't sap a big chunk of my energy right away.

[Akros]

ok, so done with week 3.
It was like hell today, the weather was awful so I had to go really late, but even though, it was really tiring because of the heat. I'll have to see I can deal with this or not, but anyway, I'll just go ahead and start week 4 on monday.

[ZXRN]

I think i'll go jogging then running fast. I think that should at least build a little stamina. Running like hell...didn't work out as I'd hoped. Ran for 45 sec and I was already gasping for air. (maybe I should go easy then?)

...are you sprinting? The schedule only said to jog or 'run', not sprinting.

If you sprint for the entire 30 minutes up to 5K, then you will run as fast as KENYAN! People will think you're KENYAN! And you will be deported back to KENYA..!!!" drink power thirst
If you have a thread mill, then run at a speed of say...9.5 to 10.0 and walk/jog at a speed of 4.5 to 5.0. The environment I live in isn't exactly a good place to run in, so most of the time I visit the gym to exercise and use the thread mill instead; concrete and asphalt are terrible running locations.

Wow...did not see that. I don't wanna be Kenyan. Yeah I'll keep jogging then. I tried to run but after the 2nd lap I went slower and slower. By the 7th, I am forced to jog coz I can't go at it anymore. (well, at least I feel the soreness now.)

Starting 2nd week on Monday and hopefully, does not prove to be to tough for me...I hope.

[ZXRN]

ok, so done with week 3.
It was like hell today, the weather was awful so I had to go really late, but even though, it was really tiring because of the heat. I'll have to see I can deal with this or not, but anyway, I'll just go ahead and start week 4 on monday.

We don't want you to faint out there dood! Don't go if it's too hot. wahahaha~

[Akros]

ok, so done with week 3.
It was like hell today, the weather was awful so I had to go really late, but even though, it was really tiring because of the heat. I'll have to see I can deal with this or not, but anyway, I'll just go ahead and start week 4 on monday.

We don't want you to faint out there dood! Don't go if it's too hot. wahahaha~

Just so you know, where I live now, days are either hot or really hot, so there's not much of a choice for me

[ZXRN]

ok, so done with week 3.
It was like hell today, the weather was awful so I had to go really late, but even though, it was really tiring because of the heat. I'll have to see I can deal with this or not, but anyway, I'll just go ahead and start week 4 on monday.

We don't want you to faint out there dood! Don't go if it's too hot. wahahaha~

Just so you know, where I live now, days are either hot or really hot, so there's not much of a choice for me

And I thought Phil. was a freakishly hot place. Well, all I can wish for then is your safety dood. So stay hydrated dood! Bring a bag full of ice and stick it in your back!