Ive decided I am going to sign up for track and field. Sign ups are right around March 23rd, and tryouts are probably 1-2 weeks afterwards.
I'm going to start going to the Civic Center and go Jogging every day after school. I plan on starting tomorrow. I live in New York so its colder than a witches'.......its cold :D .
How long do you think I should Jog for in preparation for this? I am about 5'7" at 140 lbs. Also, what should I eat before I go? Something high in carbs like fruit?

Ive decided I am going to sign up for track and field. Sign ups are right around March 23rd, and tryouts are probably 1-2 weeks afterwards.
I'm going to start going to the Civic Center and go Jogging every day after school. I plan on starting tomorrow. I live in New York so its colder than a witches'.......its cold :D .
How long do you think I should Jog for in preparation for this? I am about 5'7" at 140 lbs. Also, what should I eat before I go? Something high in carbs like fruit?

I run cross-country each fall, and ran long distance track last year. Basically I was told to eat a lot of fruit, so yah. You should never run right after you eat. For cross-country, I was doing 4 miles before breakfast and then another 4-8 at 3 PM; this was at preseason camp.

When I went to reply I thought I would have more information to give you, but I guess not, lol.

So you were running on an empty stomach?
I was doing 4 miles before breakfast

Yes, I'd have about a half of a bottle of water and that's it.

The first week was brutal. It was also about 75F and very humid in the morning and somewhere between 85-90 most days in the afternoon. But after a week it was becoming routine and easier.

Depending on how competitive your school is, what I was doing might be overkill for you to do; though, the self-improvement aspect is, of course, perfect for a dedicated individual.

Good Idea Fudgam,

Track and field will get you bloody fit :tu:

What event or distance do yuo want to compete in?

If you are competing to win (not fat loss) have complex carbohyrdates no sooner than 1 hour before. After have simple carbohydrates to restore your muscle glycogen stores.

Marcus :tucool:

I've never been to track and field, but I plan on doing mainly sprinting or long distance. Friend of mine who does it said that its not a big deal. You show up and just try different things out, then you can decide.
Im not going for weight loss, but I am certainly going for health reasons. Im putting a home gym together, but im not gonna buy a treadmill(too much money), so I figure track would be good.

Yay, did first cardio today. Went to the civic center and ran with the rest of the people there. I was there for about 20 minutes. Did walk though when I got too winded or feet started to hurt too bad. I have flat feet and I just switched to a pair of running shoes. I usually where Vans so I think my feet just need to get used to the new shoes. Tomorrow Im gonna try and add a half lap or a lap....that realistic?

Proper running shoes are a life-saver.

Tomorrow Im gonna try and add a half lap or a lap....that realistic?

Go for the lap, keep pushing yourself. Condition your body with the extra exertion.

Keep a constant breathing pattern throughout your run. Figures out what works for you - what delivers enough oxygen to keep you going. I take two sharp breathes in (which tenses up my chest) and one long breath out while I run (relaxing my chest).

Throughout the day tell yourself how much you love running and how much you are looking forward to it. Seriously, tell yourself that - your mind can be conditioned just like your body.

I have moments of near euphoria throughout the day when I look forward in time towards the day's workout or run. I physically smile and become giddy.

Do you breathe in through your nose? I find when I breath in through my mouth, my mouth and throat get extremely dry.

Do you breathe in through your nose? I find when I breath in through my mouth, my mouth and throat get extremely dry.

You should always exhale through your mouth.

But when you inhale, you can use either your mouth or nose. Generally the harder you are running the more difficult it becomes to inhale through your nose.

In cold weather, I inhale through my mouth, while in warm weather I inhale through my nose.

It is OK for your mouth and throat to get dry, as long as it isn't scratchy. The sharp in-breathes help to keep my throat from becoming dry.

I drink water all day long up until about 30 minutes before I run. And then in the minute or so before I actually "go for it" I take another medium-sized sip.

Cool.
Chicanerous, thanks for being so active in this thread. :)

Heh, your welcome. Have fun running! :tu:

I'm a little crazy with the edit button, so while I was going back to edit some posts you posted another message. You might want to reread the replies to make sure you didn't miss anything.

... one last thing: if you get a cramp in the stomach region, inhale long and slow through your nose, and out through your mouth, while concentrating on the foot which is on the side of the body with the cramp. Feel the rhythm of that foot making contact with the ground and coming back off.

Of course, if the cramp is too much, stop running, but most of the time cramps can be run through.

Added 2 laps today. Never walked either, except for the last lap which was cool down. Did 9 laps of running and that works out to be 1.5 miles. 1.66 if you count cool down lap :).

Added 2 laps today. Never walked either, except for the last lap which was cool down. Did 9 laps of running and that works out to be 1.5 miles. 1.66 if you count cool down lap :).

On a full sized track, four laps is a mile. Did you possibly do 2.25? Of course, your track may not be full sized. :bb:

Its not even an actual track. Its in the local civic center, and people run around the top. Its certainly big enough to run on, but not really a track. A person there said it takes 6 laps for a mile.
I figure I was running for 16-20 minutes straight....and I think that is aweome for me. Today, the civic center. Tomorrow, the world.(or maybe just another lap :p)