Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with jog

How to run a faster mile?

purpleclover — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 10:37:48 -0800

How can I run one mile faster? What is the best way to run a single mile faster? Four laps on a track. Right now I can't seem to do it any faster than 8:30. I work out doing an outdoor class that's mixed cardio drills and strength four times a week, and I'm happy with that. I can realistically add only one more workout to my week, and I'd like it to focus on improving my mile time.

I am interested in both training drills and strategies for pacing.

I am not particularly interested in running longer distances as a goal, although I have in the past. If the key to running one fast mile is running five fast miles in training or something, though, I'm interested to hear about that.

This jog bra is kind of chafing me.

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:34:06 -0800

I'm training for a half marathon and am looking for some suggestions - specifically, jog bras that don't chafe and workout gear for the extra sweaty. I am a 40 year old woman training for my first half marathon. The training itself is fine, but I'm having some issues with my gear.

First, my jog bras are chafing the heck out of me. I am a 36DD and I wear Size 0 Enell bras (thanks to previous Ask Metafilter answers) which seem to be the only bras that minimize (but don't stop) the bounce. Although according to the Enell size charts, I should be wearing a Size 1, the larger sized Enells didn't compress enough to do any good.

I am chafed to the point of bleeding under my arms and between my breasts. Glide doesn't seem to make a difference, and I use panty-liners to lessen the chafing between my breasts, but that doesn't always work.

Second, I sweat a lot. And when I run for more than an hour, even during the cool fall mornings, my clothing is drenched as if I was in a rainstorm. I've tried some wicking shirts (from Nike) but they got as wet as a cotton t-shirt.

I would love to get any specific bra/clothing recommendations or to hear about how others deal with these issues.

Thank you!

And I thought these running shoes were suppoesd to help me STOP clomping!

SpecialK — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:04:14 -0800

Running Filter: I'm a clomper with flat feet. Arch/stability support + a flexible arch: Are these contradictory features? I clomp if I get tired when running. I'm a completely recreational jogger, and really do it more for the sake of one of my dogs, who needs a good several mile run to help him settle down.

Thanks to misplacing my running shoes one morning and jogging a lot farther than I thought possible in an old pair of cross-trainers, I've found that having a flexible arch (whereas the 'arch support' shoes have an arch that's as stiff as a board) seems to help me roll from heel to toe... whereas the super duper New Balance stability support / arch support shoes that were SUPPOSED to help me with my bad feet do the exact opposite.

I've tried running in bare feet just a little bit to see what it felt like, and it was uncomfortable -- the arches of my feet cramped up and made it almost impossible to walk for the next couple of days. I'm assuming, based on that experiment, that I still need good arch support.

As an inexperienced runner without access to a really good running shoe store (nor the money to spend at one), is there a good way to find a shoe that will meet these needs? I like New Balance a lot because they keep my heel from shifting around. None of the other major brands seem to accomplish this feat, but the New Balance shoes all seem to have very stiff arch areas. Advice?

Help! I cant jog. What can i do to stay fit? Not what you think. More after the jump!

freddymetz — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:37:17 -0800

Help! I cant jog. What can i do to stay fit? Not what you think. More after the jump! I jog 6 days a week. My schedule is: 2 hour jog, 30-60 minute jog, 30-60 minute jog, rest, 2 hour jog, 30-60 minute jog, 30-60 minute jog.

The problem is, i sprained my foot (or so i think) while jogging in the woods , which doesnt hurt much, but enough to make it impossible to jog.
What can i do to stay in my routine, and what can i do to stay fit while my foot heals (presumably a few days/a week)?

(by the way, is my running schedule any good at all? or is there a more efficient one?)

Earphones for little ears?

bluefly — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 12:56:38 -0800

Can you recommend some ear/headphones for someone with small ears? The ones that came with my old ipod always fall out because the earbuds are a bit too big. I read some previous threads here that recommended the kind that loop over your ear, but I wear glasses, so those never fit properly and fall off. I'd prefer some cheapies, as I'm not looking for superior sound quality; I just like to listen to pop music when I jog.

Please help me learn to run.

sequential — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 09:13:00 -0800

Please help me learn to run. For starters, I am built like a sprinter: big, muscular legs. I have never been a particularly good distance runner.

Next, I have a variety of foot related issues, mostly corrected through the use of the proper footwear and foot care. I have wide feet (EEEE). I over pronate. I have a history of blisters and calluses.

As part of my weight loss efforts, I began walking. Now I can walk at 4.4+ miles per hour, at steep inclines, for very long periods of time. I can fast walk at about 5 miles per hour, though I struggle to maintain speed at steeper inclines. Though I continue to train for fast walking, it's particularly stressful on my hip flexors.

Because of my schedule, I primarily workout on a treadmill. It is not clear to me if this is causing any issues.

I've tried adding running into my routine at various times, but within 30 to 60 seconds, no matter how much I warm up or stretch, either my shin splints act up (most common) or my hip flexors act up (less common). Though I have run a mile once since March (at 10'49") and a quarter mile (at 2'15"), I have not been able to repeat either performance.

After nearly six months of struggling to start running, it struck me: I don't know how to run. I am strong cardiovascularly (VO2max of 61) and have an abundance of endurance. How would you suggest I go about learning to run? I have looked into couch-to-5k programs, but none of them specifically address the fact that running is physically painful to me.

I am open to the idea of hiring a running coach, but wouldn't begin to know where to look or what to look for. I have hired a personal trainer to work on, for lack of a better phrase, my "smaller muscles"; think core muscles and secondary muscle groups that aren't part of the mirror or vanity muscles many people work on (hip flexors chief among them). I would love a specific training program that includes resistance training, stretches, warm up, cool down, and a variety of routines to choose from. (By variety, I mean a short work out, a long work out, and some flexibility to do HIIT or other types of work outs.) Most of all, though, I need to learn to the proper form.

For what it's worth, I am medically cleared to run by my physical therapist and my primary care physician.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Where to I take my running from here?

nickmark — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 12:44:12 -0800

I'm finishing up the Couch-to-5K Plan. What's the best way to keep building my speed and endurance on a treadmill? I'm familiar with the idea of increasing weekly distance by 10% every other week, and with track work for boosting speed… I’m looking to do a bit of both, ideally simultaneously (I'm okay if that means progress in each area is more gradual than if I concentrated on one).

For the C25K, I've been on the slow side, because 10-minute miles make the math easy in terms of distance, speed, and duration of workout. I'm on a treadmill, and will be for at least the next few months, because the gym's convenient for my schedule and we're hitting winter in Minnesota. The advantage of the treadmill is that I can force myself to go at the chosen speed, meaning sustaining speed over distance is more assured (assuming I don't choose to slow down). The disadvantage is that it makes track-like work a bit tougher – I have to pick a specific speed, not just "sprint," but more than that is that I'd rather not be switching speeds every couple minutes, at least not every run, as it's distracting and I'm clumsy at it. Are there treadmill-specific suggestions out there?

Most training plans for beginning runners I’ve seen take you up to the 3 mile/5 K point and then you’re kind of on your own. Where can I go from here? It's obvious how to increase the distance, but I'd like to build speed at the same time, to keep the time spent on the treadmill from ballooning. I think a reasonable intermediate goal is to be able to do 5 miles at 8.5 min/mile, but I'm not sure how to (safely!) combine building speed and distance. Do I just bump up by 0.1 mph and an extra quarter mile every week or so? Are there plans out there I haven't seen? I'm not really looking to train for races necessarily, just fit a longer run into less time.

Breakfast before or after morning run?

Cranialtorque — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 20:15:33 -0800

In terms of boosting metabolism and promoting weight loss, should I eat breakfast before a morning jog or after? If after, immediately after or is an hour later ok? I'm 35 year old former drunken slothlike fatass, but between biking, dieting, and sobering up, I've lost about 30 lbs in the past 2 years. (Most of the weight loss is from dieting, but the other things have obviously improved my health too.) I still want to lose another 15/20 lbs. I'm starting to add a morning jog to my routine, hoping to get in the habit of 20-30 minutes of jogging a few days a week. Always having breakfast has helped me a lot, and I understand its important because it lets your metabolism know you live in a time of plenty, not a time of famine. However, my routine is wake, shower, 20 min communte, breakfast, work. I've tacked the jog on at the beginning of that routine. By jogging on an empty stomach and not filling it for the better part of an hour, am I convincing my body that I'm in a time of famine and running from a predator first thing in the morning? I can't imagine cooking up some eggs then going running, would just a little pre-jog snack do the trick?

Obviously, my understanding of metabolism and exercise is rudimentary and fractured at best. Any advice and insights are welcome.

Complete this phrase: "Home again, home again, jiggity ____."

evinrude — Tue, 03 Aug 2004 16:01:43 -0800

"Home again, home again, jiggity ____." My girlfriend and I disagree on the proper completion of this frankly bizarre sing-songy statement uttered whenever our respective families would return from an outing. I say "jiggity jig" and she says "jiggity jog." I'm curious about if other people are familiar with this construction, and how they complete the phrase; I'd also love to hear theories about its origin.