Tips

ralee39

I've never understood the idea of running/jogging at a "conversational pace" (a pace where you could keep a conversation) considering I can barely keep a conversation while walking. This has less to do with being out of shape and more to do with my lack of ability to multitask.
That being said, when searching for a pace, slow down until you find where you are not constantly looking at the clock to see how many seconds have gone by/are left. You should be pushing yourself but not so hard that you're unable to get good rhythmic breathing going or that you are looking forward to the *ding*.
I found my pace today, on week 2, day 3. While I felt it was slower than the runners on the treadmills around me, my friend who is a seasoned runner raised a good point. "Any pace is good in the beginning. If you try to go too fast, you'll just wear yourself out and become frustrated." When you reach the frustrational level, you are more likely to quit.
We're all in this together with one goal - STICK WITH IT
Keep it up everyone!

freckledjezebel

Good tips!

socajam

So true and thanks

Lau_uk

Anyone conquered the side stitch? (always my right side just below my ribs)

My legs can run further, my lungs still have enough air and yet it stops me in my tracks after ten mins of running

I have been scouring forums trying various things but even if I manage to get rid of it, the damn thing comes back 100m later!

Any help gratefully received!!

Lau_uk

Answering my own post here...

So, I was really struggling to get past the ten minutes.

May have it figured out as yesterday I ran for 40 mins and today for 50 mins, with no walking at all

So firstly I downloaded 'map my fitness' and set the audio cues to every 500m

It tells you how far you have gone, overall time and pace, and most importantly (for me) the split pace.

This means that I can make myself slow down, I am overly competitive and need the reminder to slow down.

I also downloaded 'rock my run' and found some playlists that I like, that are the right beats per minute so that it is in time with my pace

Finally, I am learning to breathe right down to my belly at the first sign of even a twinge of a stitch. I sort of swallow my breath and then slowly exhale from my belly.

Hope this may help any of you that are struggling with the damned stitch!

Laura

socajam

Answering my own post here...

So, I was really struggling to get past the ten minutes.

May have it figured out as yesterday I ran for 40 mins and today for 50 mins, with no walking at all

So firstly I downloaded 'map my fitness' and set the audio cues to every 500m

It tells you how far you have gone, overall time and pace, and most importantly (for me) the split pace.

This means that I can make myself slow down, I am overly competitive and need the reminder to slow down.

I also downloaded 'rock my run' and found some playlists that I like, that are the right beats per minute so that it is in time with my pace

Finally, I am learning to breathe right down to my belly at the first sign of even a twinge of a stitch. I sort of swallow my breath and then slowly exhale from my belly.

Hope this may help any of you that are struggling with the damned stitch!

Laura

Congratulations on your achievement, that is really good.

Thanks for the tips, looking forward to starting after Easter.

manduclese

Hello! I had some awful side stitches during the last two days of week 4. I watched a YouTube video about proper breathing during running and the gentleman recommended a rhythmic breathing that feels like "hee hee, hoo hoo, hee hee, hoo hoo." In on the hee's and out on the hoo's. Each hee and hoo is a step. These shorter breaths help keep a steady supply of oxygen to the blood, reduce fatigue and lessen the chance of side stitches. I got through week 5 day 1 this morning trying this and I had no problems. It was a bit tricky to get it down at first, because I am used to breathing long slow breaths while I run, but once i got the hang of it, it was easy.

I hope this helps!