can everyone run a mile?

FitForLife81

Definitely check out Couch to 5K. Running isnt something you just go out and do the first time. You have to work up to it. I know people who have never done ANY physical activity and do the couch to 5K program and do it successfully. It starts you off very slow and works your way up to running long distances. Also a lot of people who try to run are running a lot faster than they should. You have to pace yourself. Dont get discouraged you have to work up to it!

Rachaelluvszipped

Well, I was shocked just this week..I was able to run a mile and a half without stopping..the last time I tried I was only able to run barely a half lap...as I didn't have any faith in me for a very long time..I probably could've done it sooner..but lack of trying..didn't want to disappoint myself..but am trying to get over that hump so i can run a 5k... it takes some motivation from yourself as well..have faith ..just go alittle further each time..I am still in shock that I can run without stopping...seriously a quarter of a lap..that wasn't good then..and I am yet to get close to my goal..takes some training..and the stamina is what is getting me through now..

PassionForDressage

No! It's not rediculous at all! I am at 145 and 5'6" and at the beginning of the summer, I hated running. I absolutely loathed it. Yesterday I just ran 9 miles. The furthest I've ever ran before. I think the hardest mile is the first one. Your muscles are loosening, your body compensating for the energy being used. After that, it actually gets easier. Breath slowly. Even if you feel like you need to gulp in air. You'd be surprised at how much that helps. And, if you're REALLY out of breath (at least, this works for me) slow down and breath in deep, hold, breath out slowly. Do that a couple times. There is no shame in stopping for a bit to catch your breath. The only problem is often times, you realize how tired you already are and decide you can't go on. It's hard to get started again. Before I ran 9 miles, my furthest was 4. And had been running on and off about 2.5 miles for my reg. I told the guy I liked I ran eight miles and he didn't believe me. That was all the motivation I needed. I said all that to say, in less words, running is all mental. If you tell yourself you can't do it, you won't be able to. Tell yourself you can, and you can.

On a side note, some things I do to keep motivated is listen to good running music BEFORE I go running to get syked. AND listen to it WHILE running.

Right a quote that motivates you to keep going on your hand and when you feel like giving in, read it.

Tell someone you are. I posted it on FB that I was running 9 miles. If I didn't do it, that would make me a liar.

I hope these things helped, and glad to hear you're taking up running. Give it time. You'll get addicted eventually.

P.S. If you'd like some good running songs message me. I'll be glad to share my top ones

adross3

Physical fitness and proper clean eating is very important for life, strength and happiness. Your body is made for it. So many problems that plague humanity today has such an easy solution. GET UP AND MOVE.

CamiXiomara

You should've seen me when I started running. I ran a few meters and I ended up on the floor, begging the Lord to take me to Heaven, because I couldn't move anymore. LOL. I was miserable. It took me five months to run half a mile. Now, with daily practice, I can run 3-4 miles a day. By the time I am done, I can't feel my legs, but I feel great! I wish you the best in achieving your goals.

cloneme_losehalf

I have not ran a mile since I was in 9th grade over 20 years ago. And even then it took me 8 min 26 seconds to do so. Only running I do now is running in circles and running errands and that is the only running I ever see me doing! I want to be healthy. I am not trying to be athletic.

SarabellPlus3

Who in the world told you that? I suppose everyone should be able to from a healthy cardiovascular viewpoint, but no, 'everyone' can't just hop out and do it. It takes hard work to get there. I think running is different than other forms of cardio. I've been in fairly good cardio shape, I do a lot of spinning, walking, and yoga, and have for a long time, but I just started C25K, and I can't RUN a mile at this point-- mid-week 3. I walk/run, and EVERYONE starts at that place. So no, that person is either confused or woefully uninformed-- unless they're in really good shape, I'm inclined to wonder if they don't just assume that they could hop out and run a mile, but might be surprised if they actually tried it.

Keep up the good work! You're doing great, don't let people discourage you with ridiculous things like that.

Navmachine

thanks for everyone's input! i will give the couch to 5k program the ol' college try. my boyfriend was a distance runner in highschool, so i have been trying to make myself a decent running partner for him. a person mentioned that bicycling would be better, and oddly enough i can go for miles on a bike. we bike for 5-6 hours at a time on the weekends, and i feel great.

and i agree that the person who told me it was rediculous is a bit of an *kitten*, but it did stick in my craw for the longest time...i was just wondering if there was any validity to what he said.

as far as motivation, i have Bruce Lee in my ear, especially after i read this story:

“Bruce had me up to three miles a day, really at a good pace. We’d run the three miles in twenty-one or twenty-two minutes. Just under eight minutes a mile [Note: when running on his own in 1968, Lee would get his time down to six-and-a half minutes per mile]. So this morning he said to me “We’re going to go five.” I said, “Bruce, I can’t go five. I’m a helluva lot older than you are, and I can’t do five.” He said, “When we get to three, we’ll shift gears and it’s only two more and you’ll do it.” I said “Okay, hell, I’ll go for it.” So we get to three, we go into the fourth mile and I’m okay for three or four minutes, and then I really begin to give out. I’m tired, my heart’s pounding, I can’t go any more and so I say to him, “Bruce if I run any more,” —and we’re still running-“if I run any more I’m liable to have a heart attack and die.” He said, “Then die.” It made me so mad that I went the full five miles. Afterward I went to the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it. I said, you know, “Why did you say that?” He said, “Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

when i feel like i'm going to die, i hear myself think "then die, but never give up."

summertime_girl

A few months ago I'd be out of breath before I even hit a quarter mile. Now I regularly do 3 - 5 miles, and I'm working toward a 1/2 marathon.

sleepytexan

If I tried to run a mile, I hope the SAG van would be there to haul me in.

TinaDay1114

A wise woman who runs much farther than I do told me that the first mile or 2 is ALWAYS ALWAYS the hardest. If you're just starting out, it sucks. Even if you ran 5 miles yesterday, it sucks. Even if you're a marthoner, those first couple of miles just SUCK. You're body is going "HEY, what the heck are you DOING?? Is someone chasing us??" Your brain is going "I'm gonna die, I can't do this." And it's the same for everyone, whether they admit it or not.

Slow and steady, and you'll get there. Don't think about how much it sucks, just put one foot in front of the other until it doesn't suck for a minute. And you'll get there.

I was you not so long ago...!!

ysamatar

Wow! great advice. Bump!

LorinaLynn

I'm a C25K "graduate!"

I started running in December, and I couldn't run much more than a tenth of a mile before gasping for air. I never realized that I had to "learn" to run. I thought it was either something you could do, or couldn't do. Since my best friend in junior high was asked to try out for the track team, and I wasn't, I assumed that it was just something I wasn't good at. Something that I couldn't do.

And I kept telling myself that for the next 26 years!

Last December, I found out about the Warrior Dash, and thought it sounded cool, even though I was horribly out of shape. I found the C25K plan, then MFP, then joined a gym since it was the dead of winter and outside running wasn't an option. In about two months, I was able to run 5k. In March, I ran my first races, did some more in April, ran a 5 mile race in May and the Warrior Dash in June. I was thrilled to death that I could keep up with my brother and his daughter who were both avid runners.

Today, I ran my first 5k since April, and I not only set a great new personal record for myself, but won first place in my age group!!!! :drinker: Next week is my first 10k!

My tips... go slow. Start off running at a place so slow it's almost, but not quite, easier to walk than jog. You can always build up speed after you've got the distance. I started out at 5mph... a 12 minute mile. Today, I ran at 7.3mph, a little over an 8 minute mile. I don't run nearly that fast when I'm not racing. I'm usually around 6 to 6.7 mph when I'm just jogging, and I take walk breaks whenever I need to. Sometimes I poop out and feel the need to walk for a bit before the first mile is up, when I know I can go 6 miles plus. And the times I do walk for a bit, my average speed is about the same as when I jog the whole distance. So walk a bit if you really need to. You're still building your endurance.

The first 3-5 minutes are STILL the hardest for me. That's when that nagging little voice is in my head, telling me, "You can't do this? Who do you think you are? You're not a runner."

I tell that voice to STFU.

karijack1

Oh sweetie slow down and only do what you can and everyday you will go a little further I just started jogging again after 10 years and I jogged 1.5 miles and let me tell you it killed me I use to jog 5 miles aday it will come just don't give up..

UltraRunnerGale

When I first started running nine years ago, I couldn't run a mile. I would walk two minutes, then run two minutes... repeat. I did that for at least three months. Then I slowly started running longer and walking less. It still took me a few months before I could run a full mile without walking. It just takes time.

If you are gasping for air, you are running too fast for your fitness level. Your breathing should be rhythmic. Even if you are running so slow that you could almost walk faster, that's ok. For most people, it's all about the breathing. Most of us can physically walk or run very slowly, but if we can't breathe, we can't continue.

We ultra runners have a saying.... "relentless forward motion". Most ultra runners do not run the entire distance of an endurance event. It is physically impossible for most of us. Our events take hours, sometimes days. We have no qualms about walking, but to most road runners it is a dirty word. I don't really know why. If you are moving forward, you are making progress.

Keep on running, keep on walking, keep on breathing.... you'll get it!! :drinker:

Pebble321

He'll no! In January I couldn't run a minute!
But I think most people could run a mile IF they build up to it gradually -C25K is great or if you don't like the lok of that there are lots of other programs for beginner runners out there too.

sufikitkat

First off...if those people are not attempting to run a mile themselves then they really to check what they are saying! Second...get tested for asthma/allergies/sinus. I had the same issue when I started running and was confirmed for bronchial asthma, had sinus surgery to fix an anatomically deviated septum/bone spur, and treated aggressively for year round allergies. 1.5 years later, I just completed my first half marathon under 2:10:00 and can run pretty much straight through without breaks except in very hot and humid weather and very cold weather. You WILL get there, but it takes time and once you do you can look back and feel so accomplished :-)

joyceconklin

I can kick butt in a spin class and I just rode 100 miles in 6 hours on my road bike this past Saturday...can I run a mile? I seriously doubt it, am I fit...absolutely!! Do what you love that way you will stick to it and soon you will see the results. Exercise can be fun, enjoy:)