No running endurance?

Question

A few days ago I ran the 800metres in my school's sports day. I had never ran a race as long as that in quite a few years and I didnt know what to expect. At the beggining of the race, I ran at mid-pace and found myself in 1st position. From then on I decided to run a bit faster. However, as I passed the 400 metre mark, fatigue kicked in, my legs were numb, my chest hurt badly and I could taste blood in my mouth. I carried on running until I knew I had to stop or I would faint. Yet, I carried on until the last 100 metre, where I was overtaken and I finished second. After the race I was sick and coughed up blood. Any tips on what I should do, I really want to be able to run long distance races but I dont think I'm capable of them. Any tips on nutrition or training regimes?

Answer 1

When I was in my mid-teens I used to run the 400m and 800m at club level.  That's a bit weird, as 400m is classed as a sprint, whilst 800m is middle distance, but well, there you go.

I remember all the symptoms you describe, all that is aside from coughing up blood.

The likelihood is that you went off too fast, even though you say it was "mid-pace".  If you were in the lead, then your mid pace is faster than your competitors was, which may be true, but the odds are probably against it.

Going through the symptoms you describe:

1. Fatigue at 400m; my coach used to say that no human could sprint for 400m.  The 400m record is not 4x100m records so there is probably truth in that, and they are just under their max output.  As I said, my guess is you were running faster than you thought.

2. Numbness?  If it was numbness, then that sounds like a neurogical issue (brain and nerves) and you should get that checked out.  As you ran for another 400m, more likely is that your legs just felt heavy, and that is a sign of lactic acid build up in your muscles; another pointer to going off too fast.

3.  Chest hurt badly.  Not really surprising as you haven't run that distance that hard before.  Your lungs are the first stage of oxygen powering your muscles.  Training will improve your lung capacity, and that problem will ease off in future.

4. Tasting blood.  I still get that occasionally, especially if I have a cough and/or cold.  If you don't have a respiratory illness, then it is most likely down to you breathing so hard and deeply during the race, aggravating your lungs.  Again training will help to ease that.

5. Sick afterwards.  Well done, you did work hard!  Yes, that happens from time to time and is nothing to worry about.  What's worse though is when you are heaving but there is nothing to bring up...

6. Coughed up blood.  If just a couple of specks, then that will probably be linked to (4), otherwise seek medical advice.

If you want to run long distance races, then you can.  As I said, I am first and foremost a 400m runner, but stepped up to 800m when needed.  Now, 24 years on, I run 5K, 10K and Half Marathon.  If you want to do it you can, you just have to work towards it.  There is a different mindset with long distances.  In my 400m days the tactics were just "run as fast as you can".  Now, if I am running a 5K, I set my pace at a certain time per kilometre.  At half marathon, the time per mile is slower than the 5K pace (converted into miles) by quite a big margin.  I also need to think about drinking whilst running to avoid dehydration.

Start off by increasing your distance a bit.  You can already run 0.8K comfortably (!) so try 4 laps of the track, which is a mile.  Thereafter, increase your distance gradually - at about 10% per week.  Don't worry about times just yet, focus on the distance.  Once you can manage 5K in say 35 mins, then why not look at entering a 5K race?  I say 35 mins as if you are worried about coming last, then at that time the chances are minimal.  A fast 5K time is 18 mins, and if you can manage that you might even win!

If you want to go further, then the next step up is 10K (6.2 miles).  This is a different game to a 5K as you may need to think about drinking to replace water lost through sweating and breathing.  Above that is half marathon (13.1 miles), and you will probably find that a major challenge (I do).  You will definately need to replace fluids, and you should think about what you have eaten before the race to make sure you have the energy reserves.

Beyond that is the biggy; the marathon (26.2 miles).  I haven't run that yet as the time needed in training is just too great to fit in my lifestyle.  I say 'yet' as I haven't ruled it out either.

The longer the distance the slower I get.  But everyone has a tendancy towards a particular distance, mine is just ¼ mile!  I have friends who are better at marathons than they are at 5K, but they all like my sprint finish ;-).

Nutrition-wise, it is difficult to say without knowing what you eat at the moment.  Other answers I have done on here discuss diets, so have a look if you want (they are not private).

If you want to know where to find long distance races, then http://www.runnersworld.com (USA) or http://www.runnersworld.co.uk (UK) have listings.  They also have training and nutritional advice which may come in handy.

The link below on Wikipedia details physiologically why you were overtaken in the last 100m.  It's a bit heavy on the science, but see how you go.

Answer 2

Well done by the way.

It depends on the long distance you are talking about... if you mean 800m as a long distance then you might want to do certain things, if you mean something along longer than 10k as long distance then you might need to do something else.

The main thing to do is to get out there and run.

If yuo are running 800m try running a mile or so (1600m) in a training session, a bit slower than your 800m time - to give you stamina. Try a session of short sprints every now and again (sprint 200m, rest and repeat), and try a session pof 800m runs.

For longer distances you need to do pretty much the same. Long distance run coiuld be 4 miles at an easy run, sprint sessions could be the same and instead of race distance runs, try half to 3/4 race distance runs

Answer 3

By the way; 800m is a middle distance race and isnt long at all! Only twice round the track! :S

I cough up blood sometimes; dont be worried you are just working hard!

Nutrition: Lots of calcium for your bones and protein for muscles.

Training: Dont suddenly increase training, gradually build up the mileage. Do varied training dont always do the same; Fartlek, interval, hills, grass/pavement/sand/sea

Good luck!

Answer 4

Coughing up blood is not good. If you're training for the 800, you're going to first want to build up some mileage, so go on 2-3 mile runs or more. However, since u said the farthest u have run is the halfmile, u might want to start with 1 mile and work your way up from there.

Once you have more endurance (even though its at a slow pace) you want to build up speed. Practice doing four to six 200 meter and two or three 400 meter repeats with about a minute and a half break between them. Don't forget to run occasional 800s though.

Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, which I'm sure you've heard before. Also, drink lots of water! It keeps you hydrated during your runs which helps oxygen get to your muscles faster.

Good luck

Answer 5

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0834.htm

http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/Pr...

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=...

Answer 6

When you are sick and cough up blood after a race it just means you've put a lot of hard work and effort in. Well done! =P To make it easier so you can go further without coughing blood, train a few times a week. One evening do some hill reps, another evening do some sprint sessions down at the track and another evening go for a 2/3 mile run. You just need to train more to get used to running at that speed and you won't be sick. x

Answer 7

You "hit the wall"......

It's normal

JUST KEEP TRAINING.

Carb up two days before events

Answer 8

Good job on second!  I don't know how much training you've done, but if you are a beginner this is for you.  First you need to work on your endurance; get your base miles in first.  Run 2 to 3 miles three times a week w/ easier short runs in between on the other days.  Once you feel comfortable running that distance, then go up on your mileage.  Give this three weeks or so, and then start working on speed.

Do hills and longer intervals since you are running the 800.  Also, do strides w/ your intervals and with your long runs.  Strides are just a quick way for your body to know a quick pace, but it's not quite sprinting.  Give yourself about 100 meters to do this.  Start out at a slower pace, and as you go quicken your strides.  At about halfway you should be at least 75%, and at the 3/4 mark you should be at about 98%

(fast, but not sprinting).  

You can do other things, like drills to help you have better form and things too.

For the nutrition part, I would just say eat healthy.  And another thing, it's okay to get sick after a race, but not coughing up blood.  You might want to go see a doctor.