Rilla wrote:I really appreciate the advice and will try to incorporate some of the speed work you suggested. I don't want to lose any mass, so I'm fighting an uphill battle really trying to be a runner @ around 90kg/205lbs. That's also my main reason for not wanting to do endurance type running, I want to keep my runs below an hour-ish, so I don't have to carry water etc.
Before I started running outside, I did 1km intervals at 15km/h on a treadmill - that was hard work lol. Haven't done any intervals besides hill sprints the other day. Will need to do some recon to find landmarks for intervals - I could set my watch to do the intervals for me (ie run xxx distance at xx speed, then two mins break, rinse repeat) - actually there are unlimited possiblities for creating interval workouts on the Forerunner, though it only works if you can hear the beeps and I rarely can when I've got loud metal in my ears.

As I didn't always have a track avilable, I used to set my watch to go off every minute and then I'd mix it up as to a 1/2/3 mins speed and a/2/3 mins off- Once day I'd do 1 min in 1 min off - another 2 mins n/of and another 3 mins

A good fun(?) one is a mix up:
1 min fast
2 min slow
3 min fast
1 min slow
2 min fast - This is the really hard one!!
3 min slow
& repeat if you have time/energy and/or haven't thrown your guts up

For you, you want to aim to be doing the short intervals at slightly sub 7 min miling to aim for the sub 20

If you do have acccess to a track, it's worth going there and experimenting over 100m to get your pace right - For a 7 min mile that's 100m in about 16 sec - If I was doing track work I'd set my watch to go off every 16 sec and then do the intervals aiming to hit each 100m as the beep goes off - You get used to pacing yourself right very quickly that way.

Alternatively if you know a regular runner they will hopefully have a good idea of pace and show you what a 7min/mile pace is like.

I could set up a zone on my watch and have the alarm go off if I'm out of the zone. Hm. But I like listening to musik.

Also Rilla - A huge mis-type - If you did every 100m in 16 secs that's be slightly under 4.30 miling - If you could do that you need to think about going pro - I meant 26 secs

Rilla wrote:I could set up a zone on my watch and have the alarm go off if I'm out of the zone. Hm. But I like listening to musik.

HRM zone training is good stuff too - But you do need to be able to hear the watch - I can remember road running and thinking when the hell is the alarm going to go as I was knacked - Realised it had gone and I hadn't heard due to traffic noise - Boy was that a log interval

The Forerunner has GPS in it, so there's more to zoning than just HR-zones. There are speed zones as well. I could set it up to do 400m intervals, aiming to keep my speed between, say, 14.5km/h and 15.5km/h, then 45 seconds rest.

For now I've set up two diferent and very basic interval programs:
- Run till I press button - aiming to keep speed between 13.79km/h and 19.31km/h.
- Rest for 30 seconds
One is for 4 repetitions of this, the other for 8.

So, just a really basic setup for now, that I can fiddle with later depending on how it works out for me.

Btw. Very very happy with your help/comments Ader - it's top stuff really.
I'm pretty new to running as a sport, but liking it alot. Any kind of newbie tips is well appreciated.

Rilla wrote:Btw. Very very happy with your help/comments Ader - it's top stuff really.
I'm pretty new to running as a sport, but liking it alot. Any kind of newbie tips is well appreciated.

My pleaseure - Hope it does help

The Forerunner has GPS in it, so there's more to zoning than just HR-zones. There are speed zones as well. I could set it up to do 400m intervals, aiming to keep my speed between, say, 14.5km/h and 15.5km/h, then 45 seconds rest.

For now I've set up two diferent and very basic interval programs:
- Run till I press button - aiming to keep speed between 13.79km/h and 19.31km/h.
- Rest for 30 seconds
One is for 4 repetitions of this, the other for 8.

So, just a really basic setup for now, that I can fiddle with later depending on how it works out for me.

That's a pretty cool pice of kit - Sounds a sensible way to start - I'd suggest once you've got the 400m's firmly under your belt you throw in some 800m too and then later some miles - To get a fast time in running you need to build up your body's ability to run at the race pace you intend - In broad terms, it's partly increasing your aerobic and anerobic fitness and for a short fast event like 5k, improving your lactic acid buffering in the muscles concerned is important hence the need for all the speed work.

If you can do some longer runs - ie over distance so maybe 5 milers and if you have time some 6/7/8 milers occassionally would be useful - they need to be at an easy pace - ie you should be able to talk - increasing your aerobic capacity will help immensely.

One last thought - To spur yourself on, why not see if you can find a local 5k to enter - Nothing like a set challenge to focus the mind.

I gotta admit I'm a shopaholic and a gearjunkie, so I browsed the web pretty intensely before getting the Forerunner 405. It's everything you'd want in a running watch, and then some. Via the GPS it automatically tracks your runs and transmits them to a program on the computer. You can then analyze, compare and so on - the options are endless. Same goes for setting up traing, again only limiting factor is imagination. You could mix up any number of steps in a training run and combine distance, speed and HR goals. Supposedly there's a Polar on the market that's better, though I have a very hard time figuring out how it would be possible to improve on the functions of the Forerunner. Designwise, there are a few very minor issues, but that's it.
I will be building up slowly, starting with 200m/400m intervals then moving up to 800m and then further up.
As it is, my runs range from just below 5kms to about 7.5, so that's 3-5miles more or less - I might be able to throw in some longer runs, though I'd have to find some new routes.
As for signing up for a race - I don't want to do that. Competing with myself is where it's at for me. I've got quite a few priorities before running (university, full time job, girlfriend, weights) and setting myself a hard goal would be a bad idea. I know myself well enough to know that there'd be no way in hell I'd fail to achieve that goal, and that it'd probably take focus from something else.
I've only run 50km so far (after getting the watch on march 21st, probably ran ~20km before that), so tecnically I'm still starting out. I know I'm making good progress but I still have to keep it sensible at least for a couple more months. I have to keep my mind on the end goal, which is mental clarity/serenity and a genereal feeling of wellbeing - NOT some number in a log. Though numbers are nice, so is staying injury-free.