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Running: Training, Problems, Techniques, Questions, etc

  • Thread starter Thread starter Arty
  • Start date Start date
Here is a question for anyone familiar with Toronto.

Does anyone know where there is a 400 meter track available to the public in the Greater Toronto Area?
Alternatively, does anyone know where there is a specific route that is easy to describe and that is measured fairly accurately for distance?
I saw some guys running the perimeter of the Moss Park Armoury while being timed by someone in a CF uniform. Anyone happen to know the distance at that location? I would assume that they have measured it precisely if they are timing it, maybe someone reading has run there before?

PS. Before anyone recommends the Y.M.C.A, I‘ve checked with them and they want a $15 drop in fee.
 
I would just go to the nearest school. When I lived in Thornhill, I used the track for the secondary school there (dufferin and clark).
 
Hey Maven,
I used to work at Dufferin Clark....Also behind westmount collegiate in thornhill there is a great track...but if you want un even ground to run on you should go around the entire baseball diamond.
 
Hey GrahamD, try the lakeshore. I have been using the bike paths along there (for running not biking) and it helps having the water too look out at. I used to use a pedometer to see how far I went but now I just use a watch and run as fast as I can for like 15 minutes to a half an hour.
 
Hi RJ,

I applied to ATIS Technician and LCIS Technician as my trade...will I still be doing physical training after I finish BMQ and enter my MOC training?
 
I‘ve got several friends that just OT‘d to LCIS. You‘ll do some PT, but not the same level as combat arms. As I am not in that field, I‘ll leave that one open for someone in the trade. Good luck.
 
How hard should I be training for BT. I currently run for time, 30 min at a good pace (for a 280 lbs guy).Also while on course (from BT until I get posted) is it wake up hit the road running or is there a warm up then run? I need to know so I‘m not the guy at the back of the pack getting some colorfull motivation. :soldier:
 
I‘ve read a couple of posts on this site, and another, that say basic training is a little light on the physical training. I read that its kind of like get up in the morning and go for a 20 minute walk, with some occasional sprinting ahead a few telephone poles and back.

One of the things I read on the subject of basic training, was a precise journal type of web page, where someone who is currently a member of the Royal Horse, into his 4th year in the army, kept a record of everything he was doing. It was written in a manner that was designed to assist any civilian who was thinking about joining in understanding what it was all going to be like.

Anyway, from what I can tell of basic training, I am mostly worried that my fitness level will actually decrease, and that I will suffer for it in battle school. Also, the 13k ruck march seems a little ominous. However, apparently you don‘t need to finish it to graduate from basic. Obviously anyone trying to enter the combat arms is going to want to finish that though.

Question: In the 13k ruck march, the pace is a steady jog right? It‘s not like a run is it? I know you have to finish it in like 2 hrs, 26 min or something like that, but I can‘t visualise the pace.
 
The 13km BFT is a walk with your fighting order and marching order (webbing, weapon, ruck). It is a bit of a brisk walk but no running/jogging/shuffling. The biggest thing about going distance is that 90% is in your mind. If you are at the courses standard of fitness, you will have the strength. Then you just need to turn off the brain, and go. Don‘t EVER let yourself quit. It should not matter that the newest PC "touchy-feely" PT standards say you don‘t need to complete something. If you want to be a soldier, you WON‘T quit. Personal pride should prevent that. Your mind will start coming up with all sorts of reasons to justify falling out, but don‘t let yourself.
I‘ve taught a reg QL 3 and several assorted reserve QL 2‘s and 3‘s. You always see the big drama performances by some recruits designed to exaggerate the "drive" they are putting forth, and some equally big performances to "justify" them falling out. Just always remember what you are striving for.
Good luck, and which reg‘t are you putting in for?
 
I‘m going to mention PPLI as being my first choice, but I will take any job offer that comes my way.

As for the 13k ruck march, I am relieved that it is not a jog. I feel a lot more confident that I shouldn‘t have too much trouble finishing it. Aching muscles, fatigue, sore feet, dehydraton, are all things that I have the mental strength to withstand for lengthy periods of time.
It was the cramps I was imagining when I thought I would have to jog all that way with so much weight. I‘ve never had a cramp from walking before though.
 
Graham, if you ask for PPCLI, you should have no problem getting it. Our numbers are considerably lower than the RCRs right now (unlike out east, we have other jobs available here :D ). But seriously, good luck, and don‘t worry about the BFT. As said earlier, if you are in shape, it‘s all in the mind- just DON‘T QUIT!
Arty Aygun, no one will be alone during a BFT :)
 
I know a lot of recruits who are anxious about the physical fitness test, and since I‘m a marathon runner, I figure I can offer some advice to people who aren‘t very good at the 1.5 miler, or are just trying to get themselves into the ‘superior‘ bracket (below 10 minutes), or even to beat a personal record.

Most of my friends who are already in the reserves don‘t really know the subtleties of running (it‘s really an art), and I‘ve noticed that the people here who offer advice about training don‘t know them either. They just tell you to run hard, run intervals, run hard-easy days, and so on. And oftentimes, this results in a plateau in your personal record, and it seems like you can‘t improve your times after a certain point.

If you‘ve found that this is the case, this is what you should do - without getting into too much detail about VO2max, anaerobic/aerobic capacity, lactate threshold, and so on.

Run slower (and I mean SLOW) - but for longer distances. If you think that you‘re running easy/hard days, you probably aren‘t. On your ‘easy‘ days, you should be running at approximately 70% of your max heart rate, while on your hard days, you should be running at 85% of your max heart rate. You can find these by the Karvonen formula:

70% HR = (MAX HR - RESTING HR) * .7 + RESTING HR
85% HR = (MAX HR - RESTING HR) * .85 + RESTING HR

When you start out, your ‘easy‘ 70% days will be embarrassing. You will be running REALLY slowly. You may even have to walk to keep under 70%. This means that you‘ve been running too fast, and your aerobic capacity has been eroded - and that is the main reason why people always plateau. I know it may be frustrating at first, but trust me - it will pay off. With time (a month or so), your easy days will have you running at a fairly respectable clip, and your pace will increase dramatically, both at your slow pace, and your hard pace.

However, with time, as your aerobic capacity improves your hard 85% days will become **** on wheels. You‘ll be able to breathe fine due to your improved aerobic system, but your legs will cry for mercy. That‘s because now, you‘ll be testing and improving your lactate threshold and anaerobic capacity on your hard days.

Do not worry about your pace. Keep an eye on your HR. Your pace will automatically improve over time (and it will be dramatic). Trust me.

People who also tell you that you should avoid treadmills are spouting nonsense. I‘ve been training on a treadmill for a long time now, and I just did a track workout today. I slaughtered my PR by 3 minutes. It was totally unexpected. And I was running at an easy, breathable tempo, and made it into the superior bracket easily.

Running is running, whether it‘s on a treadmill or not. The main benefit of a treadmill is the ability to keep an eye on your heart rate (if you don‘t have a monitor). However, do not trust the pace numbers, or distances that it spews out at you.

So, short answer: Easy days, 70% of max, long distance. Hard days, 85% of max, half the distance of what you do on an easy day.

Anyway, I hope this helps you guys. If you want to know more about the biochemistry/technical details, or have more questions about training, just ask.
 
Do you recommend running every day (ie: Monday-Easy, Tuesday-Hard, Wednesday-Easy, Thursday-Hard, etc...) or should a day or two of rest be thrown into the mix? What is a good weekly schedule?
 
JDG, i would suggest running long distances (jogging) 3 times a week. two days of resting, or else theres no point in doing excersise if you dont have time to recover. the other two days, do wieght training, or swimming, or stairs, or sprints or something.
 
McInnes has it right. Go hard for a day, and easy for two. You‘ll need the recovery time to refill glycogen stores that you‘ve depleted on your hard days.

Undertraining is always better than overtraining.
 
From what i have read, there are a few formulas to figure it out but the most common is:
220 - your age...So for me it is 220-40=180.

Tc...
VVV
 
That‘s a very rough formula, and often incorrect. Everyone is physiologically different, and statisically, a lot of people end up on the tails of that normal distribution. A better way to determine your maximum heart rate is to conduct a stress test on yourself (not as scary as you may think).

Note this. Of primary concern is your health. Any runner with any question whatsoever about his or her cardiac condition should not do this test without consulting a physician. This test is designed to get your heart beating as fast as possible under ‘normal‘ conditions, and is thus by definition, risky for anyone with any kind of cardiac risk factors.

If you are concerned and still wish to find out your max heart rate, a sub-maximal test or a stress test can be done under more controlled conditions (even with a doctor present) at a fitness centre, or even at the request of your doctor or cardiologist. However, these tests tend to be quite inaccurate as well, since the testers are more accustomed to dealing with cardiac patients, and thus are often quite conservative (they don‘t want Joe Shmoe to go have a myocardial infarction on the treadmill while they test him).

That said, just strap a cheap heart rate monitor on yourself when you‘re well rested. If you‘re tired from previous training, that could be the limiting factor rather than your heart‘s natural max.

Do your normal warm-up (DO IT. WARM UPS ARE IMPORTANT), and find a fairly steep hill, about 200-300 metres long. Do a series of five repeats up the hill, turning at the top and jogging back down to recover. When you reach the bottom, turn immediately and start up on the next repeat. The key is to gradually increase your intensity on each repeat, so that you‘re starting each with a higher rate than the last.

On the last repeat, keep increasing your intensity until you are sprinting at least the last 100 yards at your absolute maximum speed. You should finish this last repeat with that totally "blown out" feeling, gasping for breath and grabbing your knees for support. Your heart rate may even increase, after you have stopped, so keep an eye on it.

The highest heart rate you measure at any point during this workout is your max. Some monitors will automatically record your max. You will probably reach your max in your last repeat, but some runners hit it earlier, and get fatigued.

At any rate, the highest number you see will probably be as close to your max as you will ever get. A difference of 5 beats will be negligible.
 
GrahamD
I am in the process of purchasing one. I found Cdn Tire, has a timex one on sale now $109 but it is only online for purchase. From what I have read and also been recommended, the Polar brand is suppose to be topnotch. Their website, has a store locator and I found a A3 (lots of nice features) at RunningRoom for $119 and that is a local store for me....
Plus most Sport Shops carry hr watches.

Tc...
VVV
 
Andrew Power,

Those are marathon distances (48k is slightly longer though). Any sort of distance like that will be tough.

I remember seeing your other post regarding your questions about RMC, and I will reply to it here: I have friends who go to RMC (I‘m a Queen‘s student in Kingston), and they always tell me that it is harder to be a reservist, than go to RMC.

I find it hard to believe, but that is what they say.

As for heart rate monitors, I own a Polar S210 - which is a midrange one. You don‘t need anything extravagant, just something that‘ll show you your HR. Something that records other things will obviously be beneficial.

I‘d say the ability to keep split times (if you‘re keeping pace numbers), max HR (for testing your max), and average HR (if you‘re keeping a running log) are very useful. I use that on mine, all the time. But I realize that you guys aren‘t running for conditioning and competition, but to get into the military.

I‘m obviously trying to convert you guys. Running for fun is actually pretty fun. :)
 
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