new to running (jogging)

missikay1970
missikay1970 Posts: 588 Member
edited October 5 in Fitness and Exercise
i am new to jogging (within the last week; treadmill only) and i ran my first mile! so excited (i HATE running, my slogan was: i won't even run if the building is on fire.) i would get very tired easily and could only jog about 1/4 mile before collapsing. so yesterday i did a mile in 11 minutes and was super excited. i'm trying to break-through a weight-loss plateau, and i'm hoping running will do the trick.

sorry, now to my question! :smile: should i increase my speed and work toward running a specific goal (such as 10 minute mile, etc.) or should i work to increase my endurance, trying to run for 20 minutes for example, and not worry about how far i've gone?

(i should be getting new running shoes for xmas and will start to run outdoors after that)

Replies

  • lisab42
    lisab42 Posts: 98 Member
    My recommendation is to work on endurance first. The speed will come naturally after that.

    Good luck and keep running.:flowerforyou:
  • wocm15
    wocm15 Posts: 81
    Endurance first. Speed will come with time. Once you have endurance, then you can start doing fartleks and speed workouts. I highly suggest C25K!
  • brandimacleod
    brandimacleod Posts: 368 Member
    I started running a few months ago, and love running outside! Since I am more than 100 lbs overweight still, and live on a hilly mountainside, I just finally got to a mile, but I want to run all the time. And I always hated it too. I dont know what changed now, but I am so glad it did.
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    definetly go for time first. and two things a friend of mine told me who is very big in running. 1, either go for distance, or go for speed. not both. and 2, you should be running at a pace where you can hold a conversation with someone next to you.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    This is a nice program I used that you can vary depending on if weight is a deciding factor (joints), or just generally out of shape is factor.

    http://www.exrx.net/Aerobic/JogWalkProgram.html

    I replaced the weeks with 5lb weight ranges, ending with 5lbs above goal weight.
    That way I only put more stress on the body when the weight came down. So less injury. 2 to 3 times a week, they say more often, but I enjoy biking more.

    The side benefit to this is, you are really doing intervals during the early stages when you are going to really benefit from that type of fat burning, helping it to come off faster.
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