Setting realistic goals?

[Fyvel]

I recently started jogging (I no longer have free access to a gym now that I am out of university, so that is my exercise of choice). I'm really enjoying it, and I have been noticing some great benefits (toning up my legs and butt). I was having trouble at first (turns out I have exercise induced asthma - diagnosed at 27 - who woulda thunk it?). Anyways, I found a way to control it if I jog slowly and keep my breathing under control. So I've been doing that and I try to jog about 3-6 kms (1.8-3.7 miles) about 3-4 times a week. I'm slowly building up my distance, depending on how much time I have in the evenings for exercise. I started out doing 1-2 kms and now am up to 6km (without stopping to walk, etc). Lots of people I know are running marathons this summer and I think that is something I would like to do next year, just to give myself motivation to keep it up.

My question is, what is a reasonable goal? Right now my goal is to run a 1/2 marathon (21km), and I don't care about my time I just want to finish it. I'm quite sure this is a reasonable goal.. but am I underestimating myself? Is it reasonable to expect to be able to run a full marathon with a year of not-too-serious training? (I just want this to be fun!)

If anyone has any experience with this, I'd love to hear about it :)

[Bios]

I'm a cyclist, not a runner, but the endurance aspect seems similar. The usual recommendation is to increase mileage no more than 10% per week, to be sustainable and not hurt yourself or burn out. (I do more like 20% a week in the spring, but then I hit max miles around early July and hold there for the rest of the summer.)

I suspect you can hope to run a marathon in the fall, if you train reasonably between now and then. (WHAT? Did I just say 'marathon' and 'reasonable' in the same sentence? Oh, gimme two wheels!)

Happy trails!

[Fyvel]

Thanks for the tips! I will keep the 10% in mind. Right now I am trying to make sure that at least once a week I either meet or exceed my "record" from the previous week. That way I am at least maintaining or improving and not going backwards. I have noticed that the 5km run is a lot easier this week than it was last week! :vebo:

[dizzymisslizzy]

increase mileage by no more than 5 miles each week. So, if right now you are running about 12 miles per week, next week run 17 miles. Keep adding on til you get to about 30 miles per week, and then start focusing on speed. A good workout is alternating 2 fast miles (8-9 minutes each) with two slow miles (10-12 minutes each). You can divide up your runs into two parts, like me, running in the morning and then at night. Make sure you also strengthen your abs and hips as well, and that you have high-quality running shoes.

A half-marathon is so much fun!!! You can do it!

[Fyvel]

increase mileage by no more than 5 miles each week. So, if right now you are running about 12 miles per week, next week run 17 miles. Keep adding on til you get to about 30 miles per week, and then start focusing on speed. A good workout is alternating 2 fast miles (8-9 minutes each) with two slow miles (10-12 minutes each). You can divide up your runs into two parts, like me, running in the morning and then at night. Make sure you also strengthen your abs and hips as well, and that you have high-quality running shoes.

A half-marathon is so much fun!!! You can do it!

That's an interesting way to look at it (for a minute though, I thought you meant if you run 12 miles per run this week, run 17 miles per run next week :dizzy:)

Right now it takes me about a half hour to run 5 km, so that's abot 10 minutes per mile if I've done my math right. Any more than that and my asthma acts up.. I'm hoping that will improve though. Either way, I'm not really focussing on speed, just finishing :lol: If I can overcome the asthma thing, great.. if not, I'll live with it. This is just about having fun and being in shape for me right now.

Thanks for the tips!