FG Fitness Challenge

I can do 4 km if I alternate between running and walking, but that doesn't really count.
Try running slower in the beginning. According to your last Strava-tracked run you began at a 6-ish minutes per kilometer pace, your heart rates show that this is too fast. For most people a sustained heart rate of around 180 bpm is too high, especially considering you run infrequently. I have been running once a week with colleagues after work for about 4 years now and only recently I was able to keep up such a pace for more than 5 km.
I know it's hard to run slowly since you feel that you're going nowhere, but that's the way to do it. Getting faster is a slow process, but you will get faster inevitably once you are able to sustain a certain pace over a certain amount of time and you're running more frequently.
 
Try running slower in the beginning. According to your last Strava-tracked run you began at a 6-ish minutes per kilometer pace, your heart rates show that this is too fast. For most people a sustained heart rate of around 180 bpm is too high, especially considering you run infrequently. I have been running once a week with colleagues after work for about 4 years now and only recently I was able to keep up such a pace for more than 5 km.
I know it's hard to run slowly since you feel that you're going nowhere, but that's the way to do it. Getting faster is a slow process, but you will get faster inevitably once you are able to sustain a certain pace over a certain amount of time and you're running more frequently.

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely try to run slower next time.

Part of my problem is that I feel I'm already going slow.

On the bike I tend to stay around 170 throughout my rides.

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Try running slower in the beginning. According to your last Strava-tracked run you began at a 6-ish minutes per kilometer pace, your heart rates show that this is too fast. For most people a sustained heart rate of around 180 bpm is too high, especially considering you run infrequently. I have been running once a week with colleagues after work for about 4 years now and only recently I was able to keep up such a pace for more than 5 km.
I know it's hard to run slowly since you feel that you're going nowhere, but that's the way to do it. Getting faster is a slow process, but you will get faster inevitably once you are able to sustain a certain pace over a certain amount of time and you're running more frequently.
Good point. I average 7-ish minutes per kilometer and my heart rate (measured with my phone. I know it's not very accurate) is around 130.
 
Thanks for the advice, I will definitely try to run slower next time.

Part of my problem is that I feel I'm already going slow.

On the bike I tend to stay around 170 throughout my rides.
oh I know that feeling, I tend to get bored running slow… that’s why my runs tend to always speed up over time if I’m running solo.

Regarding HR: just work out what works for you. My HR is also comparatively high while excercising, avg 170 would be a fairly medium effort while for others that might be an all out thing. Just see what feels comfortable for half an hour or more, then somehow try and limit your speed based on that (if it’s practical for you to check during the run).

Good point. I average 7-ish minutes per kilometer and my heart rate (measured with my phone. I know it's not very accurate) is around 130.
Huh, with your phone? How does that work then?
 
Part of my problem is that I feel I'm already going slow.
Yeah, that's the issue: running isn't that much faster than walking, compared to cycling vs. running/walking, and you can stop pedalling and still keep moving. Cycling is just an incredibly efficient mode of transportation. ;)

Maybe hearing slow-ish music can keep you from overstraining yourself. "Normal" fitness watches can vibrate or beep when you overstrain yourself, but I see you are using an aviator watch with some included fitness functions so I don't know if you are able to set such a function with that watch.
 
oh I know that feeling, I tend to get bored running slow… that’s why my runs tend to always speed up over time if I’m running solo.

Regarding HR: just work out what works for you. My HR is also comparatively high while excercising, avg 170 would be a fairly medium effort while for others that might be an all out thing. Just see what feels comfortable for half an hour or more, then somehow try and limit your speed based on that (if it’s practical for you to check during the run).

My Garmin watch measures the HR at the wrist, and I can have it displayed, so that's not an issue.
 
Maybe hearing slow-ish music can keep you from overstraining yourself. "Normal" fitness watches can vibrate or beep when you overstrain yourself, but I see you are using an aviator watch with some included fitness functions so I don't know if you are able to set such a function with that watch.

I don't listen to music while running.

But your post made me check, and I just set the HR alert for my running activities. Great idea, better than always looking at my watch.
 
Huh, with your phone? How does that work then?
The Pixels have a function of Google Fit that uses the camera to take a measurement.
It's not always measuring, but it's something.
 
Ah, I seem to remember when that first came up a few years ago... I wouldn't trust it too much, tbh - 130 seems very low - or, you're crazy fit, that could also be it :)
 
you're crazy fit
LOL NO

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I never used a proper measuring device, but the Mi Band I had and the sensor at the treadmill seemed to agree that during those runs I never went over 160, but that was nearly 2 years ago, so I don't know. I should get something more reliable than a phone. :LOL:
 
Not that I'm easily influenced or anything, but I just run (if we can call it that) my first 4k :banana:


Like suggested above, I willfully slowed myself down, and kept an eye on my heartrate.

For some reason the HR alert didn't work, so I just left the watch on the HR screen, and tried to limit myself to 180 initially, then 182, and finally 185.

I could have kept going further, maybe to 5k, but I was caught by some torrential rain at 3.6 km.

Overall pace was 8.59 min/km

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Nice!
 
Out of curiosity, I measured my pulse just as I finished my run today.
Google Fit: 115 BPM
Direct measurement in my neck: 130 BPM
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@RdKetchup looks (and probably is) much more fit than me, not to mention weigh probably 30kg less than me and yet a similar pace gets his heart to 180BPM. I am puzzled.
 
... and yet a similar pace gets his heart to 180BPM. I am puzzled.
Don't be :) Heart rate is a very individual thing. Some people's HR is fairly high while excercising, some people's is fairly low. There can be quite a large difference between persons. While @RdKetchup can sustain an 180 avg over half an hour, you (as an example for lower HR) probably would not be able to sustain such a high HR for that time - and you don't need to.

That's why absolute HR numbers aren't that great of a measurement tbh. Always better to think in HR zones based off of maxHR or something similar. This example (% of maxHR) is a very basic way to look at it, but a sort of "good enough" approximation if you don't take your training too seriously (then you'd need to be doing more testing to establish proper zones).

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I see. Thanks for the input. :)
 
My BIL runs a swimming school with its own 20m pool. So today as there was some downtime, we went for a swim there. While the water was a bit too warm, I should probably try and make that a semi regular thing…
 
For a bit of gamification, I've signed up for the yearly cycling challenge done by a German health insurance company. The goal is to motivate people to go to work by bicycle, but because these days many people work from home, not only commuting counts, but every ride.

So, after achieving 49 days last year, I've set my target to do some cycling (no target distance) on 50 days from May till September, meaning just about every third day on average, not accounting for weeks lost due to vacation.
So.... in the middle of this, they changed the end of the timeframe from "end of September" to "end of August".
Naturally, rather than adapting my target of 50 days accordingly, I thought "challenge accepted". By now, I'm at 41 days, leaving nine days to go in the 16 days I can use till the end of the month (roadtrip/Ringmeet vacation cuts into that). Well on track, I say. :)
 
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