Running: How do you get past 5k and beyond? It's the boredom that get's me..............

[DrNortherner]

I am enjoying my running don't get me wrong. I can run outdoors with dh for 50 mins ish at a good pace, but we don't get the chance to run together much.

At the gym I can comfortably do 5k on the treadmill in 25 - 30 mins, sometimes I push it and run for 35-40 mins on treamill but then boredom sets in so i stop. I kno I have more left and could go on but how?

I have an ipod btw and that has helped.

Any sugesstions?

Whats on your ipod, music? Storytapes? I listen to story cd's, they normally last 2 and half hrs.

what about downloading the bbc radio podcasts?

Yes I ahve tunes on my ipod. Don't know if I could run to a story? The music wills me on IYKWIM!

What is aradio podcast?

oh just things like the jonathon ross radio show, adam and joe etc. they don't actually seem to have the music on though, just the funny bits.

Hmmm, I don't know. I think I need my music. I have certain tracks which increase my speed.

Won't knowck it till I've tried it. Can I download thses podcasts on itunes? And how many tracks so they count as - I only have a shuffle.

OMFG, the thoguht of running with Johnathon Ross in my ears would give me a haemotoma.

Only way to go is with something powerful belting in your ears-Led Zepp or AC/DC do it for me.

yep, just google bbc podcasts. they don't take up much room, and you could download short ones and shuffle them in with some music.

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Sorry - posted that on wrong thread!!!!

Havn't really thought about what I'd like to acheive

Just a bit more! A 10k would be good actually. Don't think I'd have the time to run for longer!

i totally know what you mean, but I can only run for 15mins on a treadmill but can easily do 50mins outside.

I used to quite a serious runner and was doing 14/15 mile runs, even at this time I could still only do 10mins on a treadmill!!

My advice is - get outside!! Just use the treadmill for speed or hill running and crank up your miles by running outside.

Can you not run on your own? I always run on my own, during weekends I go down canal or wood (cos there's plenty of dog walkers about) and in evenings I just run on main roads near houses (always use my ipod). I always leave a note or tell someone which route i'm doing - running outside is much less boring that running inside!

I can't do long on the treadmill either DrN, too boring, even with music/TV. I do 10k max outside as I just don't have the time (or the inclination TBH) to go further

I set the nike plus on my ipod and it wills me on as it counts down the distance I have whilst listening to podcasts!

Then I wait for Paula or Lance to congratulate me on kmy longest run - I never run less than my last run even if it is only 100 metres just so Paula and Lance get to say 'Well Done!'

what's the nike plus, twink?

What is this Nike plus thing Twinkie?

I second lucylala. Why would you want to run miles on the treadmill when you could be doing it outside,. I do use the readmill at the gym becasue it is brilliant for pushing the speed, but I wouldn't stick on it for more than 20 minutes, and could happily run for two hours outside.

Running outside is far easier for holding your concentration for long periods of time because of having to focus on where you're going (apart from being just far more gorgeous generally than slogging along on a treadmill in a gym).

That being said, in these colder, darker, shorter days, treadmills can be more appealing. What I'd recommend is breaking it up more if you're running inside - doing different styles of running keeps your attention more (as you're just looking for the next 'interval') and also improves your fitness and muscle strength. I try to go about three times a week and tend to split the sessions as follows:

• one normal run (30 mins at a steady but tiring pace, e.g. 12K per hour)

• one hill run (30 mins at a slow pace but over either random hills or a pattern you set yourself, e.g. 10Kph per hour going from 0% inclination in increments to 7% and back down again)

• one interval training session (30 mins split into 5 min sessions, e.g. 2mins x 8Kph, 1 x 9Kph, 1 x 15Kph, 1 x 16Kph)

You can figure out what sort of sessions work best for yourself but I find it really helps when you're treadmill running.

The 8KPH and 16 KPH etc - do those numbers equate to the numbers on a tradmill. EG if I run at number 11 is that 11KPH?

twinkie - I use the nikeplus as well, which ones do you prefer.
These are really good, i've got one which is a 30min run with hills and sprints included, just downloaded from itunes

cestlavie - 16kph sounds really fast ?

DrNortherner: those are the speeds in kilometers per hour on the treadmills I use; some are in mph, some are just in levels which don't directly correlate with a speed.

I guess just choose the level that equates to the session type you'd be using. For example, on the interval training, the slowest should be a very light jog, and the fastest should be a hard run. You can figure out what works quickly enough.

littleboo: 16kph is a bit pacy but then you're only doing it for one minute and you're jogging slowly for a couple of mins afterwards.

Totally agree with Lucylala, I got really despondent that I could only manage 20mins on the treadmill until I started running outside (easier when the nights are lighter), now I can do 60mins outside.

I also "refresh" my Ipod playlist regularly as I can only run to tunes I love. I did a sprint finish the other sunday purely because I loved the song (but am waaay too embarrassed to tell you what it was!).

If you don't like running on you own, join a running club. I did in Sept, when it started getting dark in the eves and I didn't want to go on my own. I've never met a friendlier bunch of people and they're full of encouragement.

We run for 45 mins on a Tues and 60 on a Thurs, then they meet for a speedwork session on a Sat and a long off road run on Sun, but I don't do those because of the DC's. I've found it has made me keep going whatever the weather and TBH after the first 10 mins you don't really notice, even if it's pooring with icy rain . Don't run on ice though.

I can't do more than about 10 mins on a treadmill.