I can run 10k, but i can only do it once a week.

julianpoutram

I want to get to a level where i can do that sort of run twice a week and also shorter runs maybe 1 or 2 in the middle of the week as well. I'm finding it really hard although my pace is improving every week and I've shaved a grand total of 10 mins off my 10k so far, I'm struggling to exercise more than that the whole week!

First 10k = 1hr 3mins - Latest 10k= 53 Mins in the space of a month and a bit.

I did a 10 k run on Monday this week and I'm only just now feeling like I could exercise at all. It's taken me 5 days to recover from a run like that, the run is not easy but my body can handle it at the time and is getting stronger or more efficient. I just don't understand why it takes me so long to recover. I have felt weak and lethargic all week.

The worst thing is I still have weight to lose (I'd say about a stone from my current weight would be ideal) but I need to exercise more regularly to get there and I can't because my body doesn't heal quickly. I'm getting very frustrated, any advice would be really wonderful.

Thank you MFP!

brianpperkins

It sounds like you need to learn how to pace yourself on training runs. Going all out at a race pace is good for a race, but learning how to effectively train so that you can run distance more often requires knowing more than go all out every time. The art of the long, slow, distance run helps build endurance ... speedwork does not have to be at full 10k distance ... then there is active recovery.

Plus eating and hydrating properly ... warming up and cooling down ... stretching / rolling ... etc.

julianpoutram

So, is it better for me to do more shorter runs like 5k and then a longer one maybe like every other week? As long as I push my pace on shorter ones? I don't like to self diagnose but I think I might be a long term sufferer of hypoglycemia (my own fault of course, I'm not good at managing my food sometimes) so that always makes it more difficult for me as well after I finish work I always feel tired and lethargic.

MeanderingMammal

First 10k = 1hr 3mins - Latest 10k= 53 Mins in the space of a month and a bit.

That's a decent time, pretty rapid for a recent starter really.

It could be a couple of things, maybe your fuelling, maybe dehydration or it may just be that you're not adequately conditioned yet.

IT broadly depends on your objectives but I'd suggest one longer run per week of 9-10km, with 2-3 shorter runs of 5-6km. Once you're comfortable with that then you can start to add a little distance and/ or speed.

julianpoutram

First 10k = 1hr 3mins - Latest 10k= 53 Mins in the space of a month and a bit.

That's a decent time, pretty rapid for a recent starter really.

It could be a couple of things, maybe your fuelling, maybe dehydration or it may just be that you're not adequately conditioned yet.

IT broadly depends on your objectives but I'd suggest one longer run per week of 9-10km, with 2-3 shorter runs of 5-6km. Once you're comfortable with that then you can start to add a little distance and/ or speed.

Thank you, I am very proud of my progress, I'm suffering from alot of ailments at the moment though so this is getting difficult. I have back pain alot and my feet can take ages to recover after a run along with the tiredness. My back is a big worry for me at the moment though.

ThickMcRunFast

Real talk:

Too much, too fast, too soon. It shouldn't take you 5 days to recover from a 10k. You should be able to exercise the day after. Slow your runs down. You cut over a minute per mile off your time in your first runs. No wonder your body is wrecked after. If you just slow things down, you won't have such a long recovery time.

You should do one long run per week, and a few shorter runs. you shouldn't pay attention to your pace just yet, just put miles on your legs. First, condition your muscles and joints to handle the load of running, then work on your pace.

julianpoutram

Real talk:

Too much, too fast, too soon. It shouldn't take you 5 days to recover from a 10k. You should be able to exercise the day after. Slow your runs down. You cut over a minute per mile off your time in your first runs. No wonder your body is wrecked after. If you just slow things down, you won't have such a long recovery time.

You should do one long run per week, and a few shorter runs. you shouldn't pay attention to your pace just yet, just put miles on your legs. First, condition your muscles and joints to handle the load of running, then work on your pace.

Solid advice, I will do my best to follow. I like to push as hard as I can alot of the time, I'm a bit competitive haha. You are right, my body can't handle the stress too well physically although my cardiovascular system is pretty competent. I need to let my muscles and bones and tendons get up to speed with my heart and lungs clearly.

ThickMcRunFast

Real talk:

Too much, too fast, too soon. It shouldn't take you 5 days to recover from a 10k. You should be able to exercise the day after. Slow your runs down. You cut over a minute per mile off your time in your first runs. No wonder your body is wrecked after. If you just slow things down, you won't have such a long recovery time.

You should do one long run per week, and a few shorter runs. you shouldn't pay attention to your pace just yet, just put miles on your legs. First, condition your muscles and joints to handle the load of running, then work on your pace.

Solid advice, I will do my best to follow. I like to push as hard as I can alot of the time, I'm a bit competitive haha. You are right, my body can't handle the stress too well physically although my cardiovascular system is pretty competent. I need to let my muscles and bones and tendons get up to speed with my heart and lungs clearly.

Yup.

I understand competitive...whenever I see someone ahead of me on the path my legs get all twitchy to pass them. Just remember that there is training pace and there is race pace. You shouldn't be trying to PR every run

brianpperkins

So, is it better for me to do more shorter runs like 5k and then a longer one maybe like every other week? As long as I push my pace on shorter ones? I don't like to self diagnose but I think I might be a long term sufferer of hypoglycemia (my own fault of course, I'm not good at managing my food sometimes) so that always makes it more difficult for me as well after I finish work I always feel tired and lethargic.

Proper fueling and learning that pushing on every run is not the right approach if you want to be able to run more than once per week are key. There are times to push your pace and others where slowing it down is the smart choice.

NiikouruDesu

Thanks for asking this question, I am new to running too and pretty eager to see how well I can do. These answers are good!

fleetzz

Listen to her. She knows what she is talking about.

She wrote this as well, the best advice I have seen for new runners:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1217573-so-you-want-to-start-running?

Real talk:

Too much, too fast, too soon. It shouldn't take you 5 days to recover from a 10k. You should be able to exercise the day after. Slow your runs down. You cut over a minute per mile off your time in your first runs. No wonder your body is wrecked after. If you just slow things down, you won't have such a long recovery time.

You should do one long run per week, and a few shorter runs. you shouldn't pay attention to your pace just yet, just put miles on your legs. First, condition your muscles and joints to handle the load of running, then work on your pace.

Solid advice, I will do my best to follow. I like to push as hard as I can alot of the time, I'm a bit competitive haha. You are right, my body can't handle the stress too well physically although my cardiovascular system is pretty competent. I need to let my muscles and bones and tendons get up to speed with my heart and lungs clearly.

Yup.

I understand competitive...whenever I see someone ahead of me on the path my legs get all twitchy to pass them. Just remember that there is training pace and there is race pace. You shouldn't be trying to PR every run

Eric_DeCastro

i found I couldn't run a 10K everyday because my body wasn't ready for the pace I was running at. i'm running slower now 10:30 min/mile and now I can run 10K everyday. you need to pace yourself so you can complete the run then work on speed if you like.

aswearingen22

Real talk:

Too much, too fast, too soon. It shouldn't take you 5 days to recover from a 10k. You should be able to exercise the day after. Slow your runs down. You cut over a minute per mile off your time in your first runs. No wonder your body is wrecked after. If you just slow things down, you won't have such a long recovery time.

You should do one long run per week, and a few shorter runs. you shouldn't pay attention to your pace just yet, just put miles on your legs. First, condition your muscles and joints to handle the load of running, then work on your pace.

This.

I'd aim to start with a 5k twice a week and then do maybe 8k on the weekend and increase your distance by 10% a week total. The weekend long run should be nice and easy and slow. Make one during the week the same way. Then if you want, you can take one of the other weekday runs a little quicker (a little...speed work isn't advised until you've been running around a year as it takes that long for your muscles/tendons/ligaments get used to the pounding of running). Be patient. You will get faster the more mileage you get under your belt, without even having to push it.

wilsoje74

At age 21 it shouldn't take you that long to recover unless you have increased your mileage too fast.

julianpoutram

All excellent advice, re last comment, I literally haven't ever run outdoors before this month and I went straight in with 10k and 5-6k runs. My muscles are struggling but the cardio is not really too challenging as I used to exercise quite regularly at the gym for over a year before I took this up and it is the result of most of my weight loss. Running so far has given me muscles where I never knew I had them in my legs! I'm enjoying it even if it's tiring!

RunnerElizabeth

Here is what I would do if i were you. I would sign up for a 10k 8 weeks out.

Then i would follow this plan:

http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51122/10K-Novice-Training-Program

In training, I'd run my runs slow. More like the pace you started at, possibly slower. Think conversational pace. If you like to listen to tunes when you run, you should be able to sing along. Doing so will help you stick to the plan.

Then in 8 weeks, I'd run the pants off my race. And it will only take a day or to to recover because i built up to the distance along the way.

Then maybe I'd take a week off before moving onto Hal's novice half marathon plan and do that slowly too.

I'm a very competitive person too, that's why I sign up for races. I'm always training for something.

Good luck!

rduhlir

Listen to her. She knows what she is talking about.

She wrote this as well, the best advice I have seen for new runners:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1217573-so-you-want-to-start-running?

Real talk:

Too much, too fast, too soon. It shouldn't take you 5 days to recover from a 10k. You should be able to exercise the day after. Slow your runs down. You cut over a minute per mile off your time in your first runs. No wonder your body is wrecked after. If you just slow things down, you won't have such a long recovery time.

You should do one long run per week, and a few shorter runs. you shouldn't pay attention to your pace just yet, just put miles on your legs. First, condition your muscles and joints to handle the load of running, then work on your pace.

Solid advice, I will do my best to follow. I like to push as hard as I can alot of the time, I'm a bit competitive haha. You are right, my body can't handle the stress too well physically although my cardiovascular system is pretty competent. I need to let my muscles and bones and tendons get up to speed with my heart and lungs clearly.

Yup.

I understand competitive...whenever I see someone ahead of me on the path my legs get all twitchy to pass them. Just remember that there is training pace and there is race pace. You shouldn't be trying to PR every run

Training pace and race pace is something I constantly has issues with when I first started running. Especially when you really start to improve your pace, you don't want to slow down because on the outside it just sounds funny...."Slowing down, to speed up." But it really does work for the best. Your muscles recover faster from run to run, thus allowing you to add the more runs per week. This was posted over in the long distance running group...I found it when I first joined them and it has really helped me understand what my runs should look like...I hope it helps you too.

http://www.runsmartproject.com/calculator/

litchfieldd

As others have said, 5 days recovery is really long and down to how hard you are pushing yourself. As a point of comparison, I can't run 10k in 53 minutes yet (more like about 58) but my muscles are functioning fine the next day and without even a twinge the day after. Maybe I'm not running hard enough!

wilsoje74

All excellent advice, re last comment, I literally haven't ever run outdoors before this month and I went straight in with 10k and 5-6k runs. My muscles are struggling but the cardio is not really too challenging as I used to exercise quite regularly at the gym for over a year before I took this up and it is the result of most of my weight loss. Running so far has given me muscles where I never knew I had them in my legs! I'm enjoying it even if it's tiring!

that can be dangerous and result in injury jumping right into those distances, regardless of your cardiovascular fitness. I'm not sure how much muscle you can gain in a month.", but that's great!!!

julianpoutram

All excellent advice, re last comment, I literally haven't ever run outdoors before this month and I went straight in with 10k and 5-6k runs. My muscles are struggling but the cardio is not really too challenging as I used to exercise quite regularly at the gym for over a year before I took this up and it is the result of most of my weight loss. Running so far has given me muscles where I never knew I had them in my legs! I'm enjoying it even if it's tiring!

that can be dangerous and result in injury jumping right into those distances, regardless of your cardiovascular fitness. I'm not sure how much muscle you can gain in a month.", but that's great!!!

I would imagine the type of training i have been doing does build muscle pretty quickly, but it is making multiple training runs very difficult due to the recovery times because I push so hard on my runs.

MeanderingMammal

I would imagine the type of training i have been doing does build muscle pretty quickly, but it is making multiple training runs very difficult due to the recovery times because I push so hard on my runs.

Running pays the biggest dividends if you focus on distance, rather than time. Best results come from maximising your weekly mileage, without breaking yourself.

With that in mind I'd echo the suggestions above that you step back and start some form of structured training that'll get you to a consistent 10K 3 times per week, rather than once. From there you can work on speed.

Essentially performance for a new runner comes from getting the miles in, and speed will come from that. The converse doesn't apply.

You're putting your system under a considerable amount of stress, principally around the joints and connecting tissue.