Should beginners be running mostly easy miles

I wouldn't have recommended running at the weight you were at before, I would have recommended getting down to your current weight to start with. At your current weight and training volume, and bearing in mind that you seem to be healthy in terms of your muscles, tendons and joints, you could introduce 20 minutes at a slightly faster pace once a week to see how it goes.

Potro desbocado wrote:

I wouldn't have recommended running at the weight you were at before, I would have recommended getting down to your current weight to start with. At your current weight and training volume, and bearing in mind that you seem to be healthy in terms of your muscles, tendons and joints, you could introduce 20 minutes at a slightly faster pace once a week to see how it goes.

It is possible to run with a higher body mass, but you have be carefully.

I had 98kg as is started running around over 1 year. I started with 2 times a week to get used to it. Weight dropped. I increased to 3 times , 4 times a week and got even more used to it. Weight dropped. Consistensy is the key. Now i run 6 times/week and have 83kg and eat the same.

OP: It is possible, you have to just built your body carefully and adjust slowly to the load. Dont do any sprints at the beginning, that is only dangerous for your health, and a very bad advice for a beginner.

Here's my training from the past 7 days:

Sunday: 3.13mi @ 8:47 pace, 2mi @ 8:09 pace, 1mi @ 10:38 pace (cd)

Monday: 4mi @ 9:42 pace

Tuesday: 1.5mi @ 11:04 pace(wu), 1.5mi @ 8:01 pace, 2mi@ 9:48 pace

Wednesday: 3.5mi @ 8:49 pace 2.05mi @ 9:54 pace

Thursday: 3mi @ 8:30 pace, 1.06 mi @ 11:17 pace (cd)

Friday: 4.5 mi @ 8:59 pace, 1.2mi@ 10:14 pace

Saturday: 3.25mi @ 9:12 pace, 0.75mi @ 11:06 pace (cd)

Total: 34.6mi

Felt like a good week overall.

I would like to try getting some runs in <8mi pace next week but I won't be able to do so everyday at my current fitness level and I'll likely only be able to hold that pace for a couple of miles unless I am going allout.

Mostly I will plan to keep my runs around the same pace as this week, going by feel. I will try for 1-2 days per week going faster (sub 8 min pace ideally) and possibly 1 day very slow for active recovery.

55YO wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

Yes...possible. I DO get cadence lock once in a while, but it is crystal clear when that happens.

Cadence lock? What is that?

The Garmin watch that I wear also records your cadence (number of steps per minute). It can get confused and record that as heart beats per minute instead (based on arm swing and/or foot strike). It is easy to see when this happens, because the cadence and the heart beats per minutes follow the same trajectory.

HRE wrote:

My grade school's back entrance was exactly a mile from the front steps of my house. In sixth grade a cousin who lived next door and was in eighth grade there and I got interested in seeing how fast we could walk home. We timed ourselves for most of walks that year and got into the upper or mid 10's.

What?? I don’t think I can even walk 12’ pace even as an adult. You really walked at 10-something pace in sixth grade?

Flagpole wrote:

I WISH I could have a heart rate in the 140s for an easy run. I had an easy run today, and once I got a half mile in, my heart rate range was 160-182. I regularly have it get above 190 if I run even moderately hard...never experience any chest or arm pain, and I don't have shortness of breath. All data comes from my Garmin watch.

I am 55, so these higher heart rates should are not typical for a guy my age. I assume you are younger than I am?

Before someone tells me to see my doctor, that is scheduled for next week. I will mention this to him again.

Flagpole, I have the same issue and wish as you. In my forties, and any running gets me to 170 in 3-4 mins and if I continue jogging will easily reach a max of high 170s to low180s. No pain or discomfort. I can talk (pantingly) while jogging at 175 or even 180.

What is your mpw mileage? Are you actually able to run 30, 40, or more mpw at those heart rates? I’m not able to increase (continuous) running mileage much over 20 mpw without injury, but am able to run-walk even 40 mpw at around 11’ average pace and 150 bpm.

I am in the midst of a long buildup from a year ago. I hadn't run regularly in maybe 15 years...injuries leading to a knee surgery and then too much doing nothing physical until I was finally able to do a little bit of exercise (and running) without pain. Was a long road. I started running about a year ago by running just a mile at a time, and it was tough from the first step. I am now up to about 25 MPW. I have lost 59 pounds in the last 2+ years, so that was the main goal. I WILL continue to increase the mileage, but I don't have a target number, and the main goal now is to just continue to increase fitness. All of my runs are easy to do these days, and that was unthinkable 3 years ago.

Glad to hear about your recovery progress and weight goals. Btw, are you the same LetsRun Flagpole mentioned in Hadd’s writeups on marathon training? I’ve read that write up religiously several times.

jogi wrote:

Glad to hear about your recovery progress and weight goals. Btw, are you the same LetsRun Flagpole mentioned in Hadd’s writeups on marathon training? I’ve read that write up religiously several times.

I would assume so. I was an admirer of Hadd, but I was not doing any serious training then, so I never really followed any of his training plans.