Obsessed Runner Blog
Ready to stay fit for life? Become an athlete, become a runner.
Looking to loose weight, get fit, eat healthy, or just live healthy? Become an athlete and all the rest just falls in line. Become an athlete and comes along like a bonus. Diets and fitness programs fail because they aren't fun and they're certainly are not easy to get passionate about.
Yes, you can become an athlete. If becoming and athlete sounds intimidating you may have a different definition of "athlete" than mine. You become an athlete when you strive to get better at a sport in an organized manor. Gathering information, setting goals, competing and tracking your progress makes you an athlete. Age is irrelevant to this equation. You can become an athlete when you are 90 years old. Your fitness level has nothing to do with becoming an athlete I take that back
Read more: Ready to stay fit for life? Become an athlete, become a runner.
Run Faster
Feel the need for speed?
Runners are creatures of habit. We run the same routes at the same time at the same pace. We dont get faster daaah? To get faster we have to jump the track. To get faster we need to increase our mileage, change our course and change our pace. Are you ready to run fast and take chances? Im already headed out the door!
To get faster, increasing your total weekly mileage is a good place to start. I suggest a minimum base of 25 miles per week before adding specific speed workouts, 30 miles per week would be better. Weekly mileage really depends on the distance you plan to race. If you are out to run a fast 5K, 25-30 miles per week is fine but for the marathon I suggest no less than 40 miles per week before working on speed.
Remember the distance rule? Never increase your total mileage
more than 10% in one week and never work on speed when you are increasing your mileage. Increasing speed, or the quality of your runs, is just as stressful on the body as increasing distance is. If you attempt both you will be at a higher risk of injury.
The Ultimate Injury.
As a running coach, my typical evening includes answering several pain-related e-mails. I never take them lightly. I know that due to the commitment and goals driving the competitive runner, getting sidelined is devastating. Even for us has been runners, the daily clearing of the cobwebs during the days run is often all that holds our shaky world together. When we cant run, it is a big deal, Ive been there often enough to know. I thank God and revel in every healthy day. Without injury, would we appreciate health?
Ten years ago I was on top the game. I had a string of PRs going. My best 10 km, 10 mile and Marathon all came to me that fall. I was running in the 70 to 85 mile per week range with all systems maxed. Business life, family life and the running life filled a good 18 hours of each day. I was the master of time management; I was loving life and living full blast.
Soon after my marathon, what seemed like a bad chest cold soon turned into what I thought was pneumonia.