Can someone help with my running please?

Question

I am 21, 5'10", 165/170lbs. I don't know if I'm especially fit as I have no idea what's average (I can't afford personal trainer/ gym membership) but would like to find out if I am average or not.

I run purely for enjoyment and to keep fit. I run at night along the main road out of town (it's safe and well lit up on the pavement). The route is 6 miles and it takes me about 30-45 minutes. I run steadily without pausing.

Is this OK- how can I improve if need be? Thanks!

Answer 1

I fully recommend you buy 'The SAS Personal Trainer'. It's what I used when I started to run. In one week I went from only being able to jog for two minutes before having an asthma attack to being able to run 4km in one go. It'll tell you how to improve and what to aim for etc. It also covers all over forms of exercise such as cycling, swimming, self-defence etc.

Answer 2

Thats a very respectable time for a casual runner. If you want to increase your speed there are several methods and you don't need a personal trainer to do it, but first, you need to have a clearly defined goal. Do you want to run races? If so how far? 5K ? 10K ? Half marathon? Marathon? Your answer will shape your needs.
I suggest going to a store that specializes in running gear. Usually the people working behind the counter are enthusiasts themselves and are more than willing to help, they even sometimes have clubs where they organieze weekly runs you can go on for free. Anyway, its worth spending 20 bucks or so on a book that explains the theory behind doing speedwork and building up to a better running time and avoiding injury and knowing if you're ready etc... Its usually for more advance runners though and if you're at the point where you're running that 6 mile run 3 or 4 times a week you're not quite ready to do speed work. You should really be running at least 5 times a week, two of those times would be 10 milers. To start. But as I said, there are a lot of different training methods depending on what you want to do. You can't do too much research. Good luck.

Answer 3

If you are running six miles in 30 minutes you are running a 5 minute mile pace. Which is really good. Your 5K pace would be about 15 minutes and 37 seconds. Which is a very competitive pace. To give you an idea, you have to run a 15 min and 30 sec pace to be a walk on at the University of Louisville to run Cross-Country. UL is in the highest division for college. IF you run at a 45 minute pace your running about 7.5 min pace. Which is good. Honestly, if you enjoy running just to run then I would not consider this as something you should worry about.

Answer 4

this OK for you unless you want to be fitter and faster.
therefore you need a goal: run route quicker in 6 months

you can achieve this by many methods one is run the route more regularly (frequency if this increases so will your fitness)
increase your tempo: this can be achieved by working out an achievable goal time i.e you currently run 5 miles in 35Min's and you want to run it in under 30Min's.
break the pace down from 7min miles to 6 min miles.
6 min miles = 3 min 800meters therefore if you did a session with 10 800 metres with equal or half rest at required pace you body would learn to pace over said distance you can then play about with distance and rest from your reps (mile reps for example)
there are many books with more info than me suggested read is runners world as this is relatively up to-date and also has a lot of good tips.

i hope this helps

Answer 5

Running 6 miles in 30 minutes is amazing and if you need to learn more about your sport or improving on running go to athletes.com It is the best site for what you are looking for . There are tones of articles on everything you will need.

Answer 6

You're doing about average, I have a similar routine and have ever since retiring from the military. We did 10 miles almost every day when possible and that took us usually around an hour and ten - fifteen minutes. No need to improve unless you'd like to be a sprinter.

Answer 7

6 miles in 30 minutes, very good. I assume 45 mintues is an easy jog. If you want to get better start setting some goals and start doing your homework. You don't need a physical trainer. I don't think you need the motivation. Start doing some research and educate yourself. runnersworld.com is a good place to start. But don't stop there.

Answer 8

Sounds to me like you're doing great! Keep it up. If you want to get better times, add some hill work, intervals, and gradually push out your longer run to 10+ miles. Have you ever thought of running a marathon? Judging by your enjoyment of the 6-milers and your times, it might be a very enjoyable venture for you. Best of luck...and keep it up!

- Mike

Answer 9

I was 30 (5'10" 190pounds) when i started to run, i could not do long distance at school, but now do 6m in 38mins-45mins, every other day. Most time's i find this enjoyable, but sometimes not so. I also wondered how to increase my distance, apparently you do a longer run when you are feeling good, and in block's of three day with one day of. So it would go, Long run ,normal, normal then a day off. Then in time two longer run's and one normal and so on.

Answer 10

your doing well... you have found something you enjoy and whatsmore its a million times better to exercise in the fresh air than in the enclosed space of a gym.. your heart and lungs will be vastly improved..
it really matters that you breath in real fresh air and there is no way you get this indoors in a confined space with other people...

it is much much better for you to exercise outdoors... and much much better for your BRAIN functon too...... whats the point of having a fit body and a slow brain... the more oxygen the better for your neurons...

try varying the pace you run... say 5minutes as fast as you can sustain... then 5 minutes recovery slower pace... this will challenge your body...
buy a running magazine and you will get lots of tips....
running or power walking is fantastic for fitness... so keep on doing what your doing...