A simple test for noob runners...

First off: ditch the fucking treadmill and hit the road.

Use mapmyrun.com to plot a 1.5 mile course over level, preferably grassy ground, then get out and run it as fast as you can. No stopping, no walking.

Now - what hurts the most?

If you feel like your lungs are on fire and your heart is ready to pop, you need to start working on sprints.

If your legs have turned to stone and your stride decreased at all, it's time for some long, slow distance running.

As a noob both of these may be the case, but try to figure out which one slowed you down more: lack of wind or lack of leg endurance. Honing in on your greatest weakness and training to reduce it will ensure the fastest rate of improvement.

 

End of thread.

 

im sure you can run fuckin 1.5 miles at full speed without slowing down one bit without your lungs burning a bit

 

I don't think as fast as you can implies running full speed the whole time. Moreso, running it without stopping or walking, consinstely trying to continue running.

Good test i'd say, for me its usually the first.

 

yea but even just running as fast as you can for 1.5 will still burn your lungs a bit. it would for me im sure and i dont consider myself a noob runner if i run 10km 3 days a week

 

"If you feel like your lungs are on fire and your heart is ready to pop, you need to start working on sprints.

If your legs have turned to stone and your stride decreased at all, it's time for some long, slow distance running. "

You nailed exactly how I felt after running my 10k the other day...

 

Ditch the treadmill?? No.
The treadmill is fantastic cardio, fantasitc for Sprints.

 

Use it if you have no other choice. Ditch it if you do.

 

lol true things here

 

always have a 2% incline on the treadmill to mimic running on the street...

 

I hate the treadmill.

 

my legs always give out when running. LSD for me then, thanks for clearing that up!

also, i didnt realise how much worse off i've been by running on the concrete footpaths for all this time, i've switched it up to running the oval down the road (which is kinda boring looking at the same things over and over again) and i feel so much better overall.

 

How do you sprint on a treadmill?

 

You lie to yourself.

 

I am a noob runner. My problem is my lungs for sure. Do you suggest I start training sprints now? I thought newbies were supposed to work up to 30 minutes of easy running before training sprints. Should I train a mix of sprints and lsd? If so how would you suggest that I do that? Thanks.

 

You can't.

 

Its pretty inefficient, and when you say Sprint, that should be MAX effort...with a treadmill, all I can get is a very fast run (isn't it capped at 10 mph?), I'm sure i'd be up on a treadmill to 13-5 for at least part of the time.

Softball field: sprint long length, walk / job short..repeat.

 

some times here where i live the weather is blizzard conditions so i have to use the treadmill to sprint if you can call it that i put it on max speed and incline and you can do allright

 

Solid advice right here. Listen to this man.

 

Cool. I didnt know this, its appreciated.