I'm going for a run

[Dauphin]

What's a good average for a distance to run on an every other day basis?

And what type of running do you prefer? Flat terrain or woodland cross-country. I used to like woodland running, but I can't do it during daylight hours, so it's a bit of a no-no at the moment (and not just because of the crazies in Gumping Woods )

[VetLegion]

When I run it's ~6km every other day. Half asphalt half grass. It takes me about half an hour. I can run more and faster, but I do it for recreation so I don't push it.

[Zkribbler]

Re: I'm going for a run

Originally posted by Dauphin
What's a good average for a distance to run on an every other day basis?

Ask your body.

That is, it depends on how good of shape you're in. Some people can run for hours on end. Me, if I could do five minutes, that'd be marvelous.

[RGBVideo]

That depends how much of a fatass you are, and in how good shape your lungs and heart are, but generally jogging should be measured in time, not length.

Presuming you don't get exercise in your job and haven't really cared about sports in your spare time, a good starting amount would be 14 minutes. Be patient enough to start running slowly enough: warm up by keeping your pace slow for about the first 2 minutes (check it from a wristwatch), then gradually go up in speed. Don't push your limits, though you can end up your jog for a sprint of minute or so. How to know your limits: you're supposed to sweat a lot after the first five minutes, but never supposed to run out of breath. Woodland cross-country means you can look around you and not become bored. If you have to jog in an urban environment and get tired of the setting, music can be a good counter to boredom.

Increase jogging time with 1 minute every day until you hit 30 minutes, then we'll look at your physical situation again.

Edit: Oh, and I recommend you'll jog once per day. Make it a routine and you'll get used to it.

[Lazerus]

If you live near a beach do it there, much better workout

[SlowwHand]

I consider a brisk walk to the refrigerator for one of my 4 beers a night to be suitable.
You might need to build up your stamina though.

[Dauphin]

I easily walk about 6 miles a day and often walk about 4 miles to and from the pubs in Bromley. When the rail system fell apart last summer due to the bombings I walked the 15 miles home no problem.

I just figure running would be making the whole thing quicker.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
I consider a brisk walk to the refrigerator for one of my 4 beers a night to be suitable.

Sounds familiar.

[KrazyHorse]

5k every two days is more than adequate to keep you in good shape

[KrazyHorse]

You should start off aiming to do that in between 25 and 30 minutes. Pretty quickly (unless you're pretty fat) you should be able to get down under 25. Once you get to 20 minutes you're in very good shape.

I was down to ~18 minutes until my knees started killing me and I stopped running 2-3 months ago.

[KrazyHorse]

Grass on flat terrain is best for your knees. If not possible, rubberized asphalt (like on a track) is second best.

When you finish you should be hurting like crazy. Take the time to cool down (at a jog, not walking) for a few minutes at the end.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
You should start off aiming to do that in between 25 and 30 minutes. Pretty quickly (unless you're pretty fat) you should be able to get down under 25. Once you get to 20 minutes you're in very good shape.

I'm 74kgs and 1.75m. So not too bad, considering last summer I was 82kg. See before and after (I be in the middle). My main issue is getting my heart and breathing back into shape. I can do cycling at a good pace very easily, but running at pace isn't that straight forward as I've only just started.

I started doing pushups in the summer too. Could do about one or two (literally) before collapsing when I started. I've now plateaued at around 40 or so, depending on the quality.

[Jon Miller]

I am 5'11=1.8m

Since last March (or April?) I have gone from weighing 95.5 kg to 81.8 kg. I also could barely jog for .5 miles, and while I have not focused on distance or time (I have more focused on just doing in at least 3 times a week) I can now do 2 miles (3.218 km) pretty easily. I don't think my strength has ever been so low I could only do 1-2 pushups.. but I can probably only do ~40 right now.

Note that I lose tone raelly fast.. I could jog 2 miles pretty easily last November.

JM

[Jon Miller]

I guess what I do is at least 3 days a week I jog/use machines for ~30 minutes. The time and heart rate is the most important, and I often do ellipticals. The weakness of ellipticals.. and why I am going away from them.. is that they don't actually help you run better (doing them for 3ish months didn't improve distance or time for my runining at all). They do put you in a cardio zone though, and burn calories.

There is a band for where you heart rate should be, but for people in their 20s, shooting for heart rate of 150+ is a good idea. And you don't want to push yourself too hard until you get to the point where you are healthy. If you push yourself really hard when you are in too bad of shape you can have a stroke (happened to someone in my department a couple years back). I would recommend keeping your heart rate below 180..

Jon Miller