This week's problem is one that many runners will recognise: How do you cope with being a "beginner" again after injury?"I used to be a half-decent runner. I've run seven marathons with a PB of 3:36, and loads of half marathons and 10Ks
This week's reader completed the London Marathon using a run/walk strategy – but she now wants to cut out the walks altogether, and it's not proving too easy. Can you offer any advice? "I'm getting really annoyed with myself. I trained for FLM using
, but only so I can get to the gym/race/work. I keep it as light as possible. If I could ditch the pack, I would. – coughie I'm training for a half Ironman, and I run once a week with my wife. She's a beginner and runs at a far slower pace than me, so
is one beginner who's wondering whether to take the plunge. "Should I fill in the form or dream on until next year???" he asked a couple of weeks ago, kicking off the Should I enter?! thread in the Flora London Marathon forum. Ashapalan has only been
time, there's some evidence that human skeletal muscle switches fibre types from "fast" to "slow" due to training. But how's a beginner to know which race length suits their biology best? Probably a case of experimenting with different distances. I
Ease into your running planHave you had a chance to look at the beginners' training plans on this site (the grey training tab at the top)? Going straight in to three 30-min sessions is quite a strong start, and it's important not to get injured at this stage
total beginner. I'm looking to build lung capacity and cardio-vascular fitness rather than calorie-burning. I run on a treadmill rather than road, and it's part of my gym programme which mostly consists of resistance machines. I'm a non-smoker, 5
bikes are for ponces, so you don't want to get one of those anyway. There are a lot of books with triathlon training plans out there, or you could try BeginnerTriAthlete.com. Also pop over to the IM 2007 training thread. A lot of people talk training
, but it looks like the forumites have taken all the places!" And this from S3oB: "Noooooo! The training I can stand, but nearly eight months of the Abingdon Marathon forum?"Your forum threads have helped give Abingdon the kind of buzz that's normally reserved
't like the particular emphases of Pose or Chi, have a look at books like Master the Art of Running by Malcolm Balk and Triathlon Training Running by Ken Mierke. Malcolm Balk is an Alexander Technique teacher, so he tries to maximise the benefit
