Jogging?

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kns6374
kns6374 Posts: 29
in Fitness and Exercise
I started week 1, day 1 of c25k last night. Prior to starting, I swam 2.5 miles. I can walk for long distances without getting tired - but I can't jog for longer than 45 seconds without feeling like I'm dying. What I can I do to help get my body in shape enough to jog, let alone run?
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  • Mlkmaid
    Mlkmaid Posts: 356 Member
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    I did the program three or four years ago and I know what you're talking about. You were either running to fast or anxiety got you. Don't think about it - just do it. Job and talk to yourself. You should be able to hold a conversation. Every so often. Just start talking. Experts describe it as "breathless conversation". Not comfortable, but doable. After a couple of weeks you'll be surprised how easy it is. There will be weeks where you'll feel like you can't do it and that's the point - you're challenging your body when your intervals go up and then *poof* they get easy. Now, 3 miles is a piece of cake for me. When I started, 30 seconds made me want to barf. So this is all part of the process. You obviously are in fairly good shape. Maybe you're psyching yourself out.
  • Chemburly12
    Chemburly12 Posts: 53
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    Couch to 5K is how I did it. It'll get you there. I couldn't walk without getting winded when I started and now I'll jog for about an hour in the evenings and I'll go about 4.5 to 5.5 miles. In the beginning there were times where I wanted to throw up or cry but my body got stronger and as time went by I found that I loved running. You'll get there. Keep it up!!!
  • LearnFromTheRed
    LearnFromTheRed Posts: 294 Member
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    I think running is just a much bigger impact on the body - it always seems to quite literally 'shift' everything for me!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Two words.......slow down, and if you can't run slowly for 45 seconds do it for 30 seconds and build up to 45 seconds & 1 minute etc etc. If you find yourself getting out of breath slow down even more....your breathing should be deep and relaxed.

    When I started running I couldn't make it around the block without feeling death would be a blessed release.....so I started with 1 minute of pathetically slow (almost a shuffle) "running" with 9 minutes of walking, then 2 minutes of running with 8 minutes walking and so on until I could eventually go 10 minutes without walking. It took a number of years but I'm now running half-marathon distances.

    Be patient and be consistent. It takes time to build you aerobic base. Don't feel like you have to follow someone else's schedule (I find the C25K is a bit aggressive for many new runners - not everyone can go from zero to 5K in 9 or 10 weeks)
  • Liz_Mfp
    Liz_Mfp Posts: 172 Member
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    Slow Down
    Then Slow down some more

    C25k is too strenuous for beginners

    Better to try
    http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/condition.html
  • wendinoggle
    wendinoggle Posts: 12 Member
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    C25K was too aggressive for me. I am very new to running/ jogging too. So I started doing one min walk, one min run. It was pretty hard to start. I did that for two weeks. Then went to two min walk, two min run. Now, I do two min walk, 6 min run, then alternate every two min walk/rum. I don't feel like I'm dying anymore, but I certainly am spent by the end of those twenty min. I'm just going to do what my body allows and push myself in small increments so I am not discouraged.
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
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    Pace yourself, and push yourself. Check your form.
    Some people waste a ton of energy jogging/running because they have no idea how to do it.
  • Sjenny5891
    Sjenny5891 Posts: 717 Member
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    I find it hard. I can walk 4 to 4.5mph on a flat surface. I was under the impression running was faster than that, but it isn't.
    According to some in the c25k group on MFP, you can "run" slower than you walk. When you walk, you have one foot on the ground at all times- when you run, you don't.

    It's hard. I hate watching the clock, I find it distracting. I just run as long as I can, walk a little bit, and run some more.
  • clarkeje1
    clarkeje1 Posts: 1,636 Member
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    c25k works! and SLOW DOWN
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
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    Relax and slow down, it's not about speed yet (and it shouldn't be for a while).
    I did a couch to 10k plan, and it seemed really hard at first, but then after about two weeks something "clicked" and I found my pace, and figured out the breathing. Counting breaths really helped me take my mind off of running 2 steps in 2 steps out, or whatever works for you ;-)
  • lmckillo
    lmckillo Posts: 127 Member
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    You should be able to talk while you jog, if you can't your going to fast. Another thing to try is this....run from one telephone pole to the next then walk from pole to pole...do this for a while then run two poles and walk one ...then three poles then one, etc etc . Before you know it you will be running a full mile without thinking about it.
  • Miss_Maree
    Miss_Maree Posts: 33
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    These are all good tips. You can also try breathing rhythmically with each step to make sure you're taking deep enough breaths/getting enough oxygen. Breathe in through your nose when your right foot goes down, keep breathing in when your left goes down, and when the right goes down again, exhale through your mouth, continue exhaling when your left goes down, then when your right goes down again, breathe in through your nose.

    So with each right step, you are starting to inhale or exhale.

    You might find a different pace to be more comfortable for your body, but once you find a rhythm that works for you, the consistency in your steps and breathing could help your endurance.

    If you are still having trouble, maybe just power-walk until you build up your cardio-respiratory endurance. This is also better on your joints!
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    Run slow don't be embaresed even if it's slower than your walk. You should be able to hold a conversation if you can't slow down.
  • StripedSmoker
    StripedSmoker Posts: 104 Member
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    Run as much as you feel good with, do it regularily and you will notice how you slowly can run longer and faster without getting as tired as you used to. Really, there's not much of a secret to it :)
    Currently I don't run because my foot is swollen and hurting (oops) but I love running, yet I am not good at it. I love running really quick, but I want to increase my stamina- so I reward myself with little sprints now and then. Rewarding yourself is a good motivation and having the willpower to actually do it is all you need. Slow but steady.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Prior to starting, I swam 2.5 miles.

    You mean RIGHT before you started running? I don't swim, but that seems like a pretty long swim to me.

    Try C25K again when you're fresh and not already partially (or totally) spent from another exercise.
  • kns6374
    kns6374 Posts: 29
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    Slow Down
    Then Slow down some more

    C25k is too strenuous for beginners

    Better to try
    http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/condition.html


    Thank you all so much for the help! And I checked out the website recommended - my workout partner and I are going to try this first and see if it'll help build us up better!
  • MaureenH39
    MaureenH39 Posts: 315 Member
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    I just did week 6, day 2 of C25K and two things I can tell you is you should be jogging at a conversational pace....you should be able to still talk while jogging and TIME :smile: It takes time. Your breathing will get better. When I first started I felt totally out of breath by 45 seconds and now last Tuesday I jogged for 20 minutes straight. This program worked very well for me :smile: I have never been a runner before this program. Don't worry about speed at all....that will come later on just work on endurance and increase the amount of time you can jog.
  • SpleenThief
    SpleenThief Posts: 293 Member
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    ...Prior to starting, I swam 2.5 miles.

    To clarify - you swam 2.5 miles, changed and then started running? As in one workout right after another? If that's the case, this is one factor. I'm an experienced runner and a decent swimmer. Back to back workouts like that are brutal. Space them out, think of them as two separate things. Run early in the morning and get your swim on later that night.

    If you're talking about 2.5 mile swim, non stop you've obviously got a good aerobic engine. You'll just need to acclimate your legs and joints to running. C25k is a very conservative way to do so. Good chance you can make progress more aggressively than the schedule calls for but I would start with that and see how it makes you feel.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    Stick with the program, it works!

    Like you, I was a walker - I could walk, and walk fast, all day long with no problems. But running was completely different, and I was surprised at how sore I was, and how my legs, feet, ankles - everything felt different than it did with just walking.

    As others have said - slow down. Go as slowly as you need to in order to complete each session. Slow jogging is still jogging! Stick to the program as it is written - three days a week, do the intervals for each day, including the warm up & cool down walks. Stretch well when you're done.

    The c25k program turned me into a runner at the age of 43 - over a year and half later and I'm still running and enjoying it. You can do it!
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    Go as slow as you need to. If you can only do 30sec to start, then fine. But slowly push to increase that. Whether it I from 30sec to 1 minute or 30 sec to 40. Be consistent and don't give up! whether it takes a few months or a year to be able to run 10min, then do it. Commit to succeeding and you will :)

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