Struggling to run

leahhugh

I'm a terrible runner too. I downloaded the app RunKeeper and make my own little work out. I started with running steady for a minute, walk 2, and repeated. After a few times, I changed it up. Now I am at running 2 and walking one for about 30 minutes or whenever I reach my house again, usually two miles. My legs are getting stronger, and so are my lungs!

Slow your pace and start out slow walk/run!

billsica

+1 on the couch 25k

Slow is the key, your building endurance, I was running about 4.5 mph some days, pushing a stroller.
Just breath deep and don't let it get out of control.
You said your in boot camp. What shoes are you wearing when you run?

Really? Military dreams suggestions were spot on. And were going to get caught up in details and troll one of the good posts?
Can't you go find an alli post to leak around in.

mlewon

Just go a little slower and see how long you can stretch out your stride to be!

lisapr123

Don't feel bad, do what you can do and C25K is an exellent app (although I prefer GetRunning!).

I'm a cyclist first, a runner second. I can cycle for 50+ miles at 15-16 mph and my average heart rate will be around 135-140. But when I run, I struggle to keep it under 165. My body just responds less favorably to running. I still do it, but it's never been easy for me. I am about to undergo fertility treatments and will need to keep my HR in check while pregnant...and I don't want to give up running...so I've taken to speed walking with bursts of jogging. It gets me around a 12:30 pace and I feel in control.

Happy running!

dsjohndrow

Running is a constant drain on the bodies oxygen level. Google "Volume Ox." Without proper training, just ramping up to running and hour is different than anything but maybe swimming. If your limbs are rubbery that is depleted oxygen and possibly potassium.

Here is blog I wrote for new runners - maybe something in there you can use.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/dsjohndrow/view/icu210k-run-for-your-life-275555

Good luck.

JustJennie1

Try the C25k if you're just starting out.

It's quite possible that you're running too fast. If you're a beginner you should do more run/walk intervals. The first time I tried running -- and it was outside which is much more difficult than a treadmill -- I did half a mile and I thought I was going to die. I almost gave up after that but decided to give it another go on the treadmill and gave myself small goals. I was hardly fast when I started -- probably a 10-12 minute mile -- but I did run/walk intervals and every time I ran I would increase the time/distance so say I ran for a quarter mile on Monday then Wednesday when I ran I'd shoot for half a mile etc. until I hit a mile (and that was beyond a doubt the greatest day of my life -- when I ran one mile without stopping!) Then when I was comfortable running a mile I'd up the pace at quarter mile intervals etc.

Don't worry if you have to stop and walk. You're just starting out. No one who runs started out doing a marathon. Good luck!

lchansen1

Hi Esther--

I definatley have some ideas for you, or for anyone struggling with this as i was you about a year ago. (except maybe the bnootcamp thin, lol)

Anyways, water. make sure you have plenty of it before you decide to run. Temperature, the summer makes it that much more difficult so go in the am or go when the sun is setting about dusk. Build your stamina, I think 45 minutes is a great amount of time to put in but your goal should be measurable.

My suggestions are this:
-<b> find a friend who is a jogger and join them </b>, you probably can not keep up with them the entire way but the will push you and eventually you will be able to.
-<b> focus on your breathing </b> not your run or your feet or anything else -- keep it controlled and keep your heart rate in a comfy zone... remember slow and steady wins the race, this is especially true when you first start.
also....
-Do you have a smart phone? They have plenty of apps to tell you how far you have gone, time, your pace etc (shoot for a 10-11 minute mile in the beginning)
-music, get some there are two types that work for me. Pop when i am feeling strong and gong steady, 'in the zone' and my breathing is under control but when i start to feel it getting away from me i switch to reggae until i get my heart rate an breathing back on track. find what works for you.
-if you need to stop, stop, thats fine. but pick a spot ahead of you on the course and when you get there run again, keep doing this. it is actually a good think to bring your heart rate up and then back down and up and down.
-someone once told be about road runners club which are ll over the us, look into that it'll give you friends to run with.

you might not be able to do 45 minutes now but you will so keep putting yourself out there and stay for 45 minutes like you intended. when u started this journey it took time and was gradual-- so will this.

Most importantly I suggest altering your goal, yes put in 45 minutes three times a week but I would aim to run XX number of miles in 45 minutes instead. What you should see as you improve is that you can run more distance in the same amount of time. If you use a smart phone app like i suggested you will see your average pace and that should go down as well and all help you control your speed. Again I would tart with a 10 or 11 minute mile and i would aim to go between 3-4 miles and after you see the progress, which you should change your distance or speed goal.

Lets put it this way you CAN do it, set your mind to it and keep your thoughts strong and positive. Lastly if ur running outside, ur legs are likely to hurt the first couple times you are out there, i suggest stretching after your run, not before.

Good luck, stay positive, breath, and keep putting one foot in front of the other,
Lauren

lchansen1

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miracole

Running can definitely be a struggle but as someone who has gone from "omg I can't finish the 12 minute mile I'm going to die" in high school to now working on my second marathon, I can say that if you stick with it you WILL see results!

I never used the C25K program though I've heard great things about it, but I figured I'd share an alternate method that worked for me in very gradually building up endurance!

I started on a treadmill, and set the goal of eventually running half an hour. I would run at a sustainable pace (and to me sustainable means having the ability to carry on a conversation while running) for as long as I could and when I thought my whole body was just done I would slow the treadmill down to an easy walk and finish the rest of the half hour at that pace. Every day I set a goal of going just a BIT (a minute or two) longer than the day before. I found that once I could run 17 minutes straight it became a lot easier (my first run I managed a whopping 5 minutes before wanting to die).

The same principle can be used while training outside. If you can run 10 minutes right now before having to quit then next time aim for 10.5 or 11. Every time you beat your previous running time count it as a major victory and celebrate! But don't QUIT at 10 minutes, or 11, or whatever. Finish the 45 minute stretch at a walk to keep up your discipline.

Feel free to add me or private message me if you want any more running tips for what works for me. I started out as a turtle but yesterday finished a short 2k relay race at a sub 5.5 minute per km pace which felt GLORIOUS. I'm still not fast, but I don't feel I have to be so long as I love what I'm doing!

beebee0925

It sounds to me as though you are going out too fast.
Try slowing down (even if you think you are already going slow - go slower!) and you will almost certainly be able to go further.
Once you have built up your endurance you can work on speed.
Starting out slowly lets your joints and muscles get used to the different activity without so much risk of injury.

You might also like to look at one of the interval run training programs like C25K, or the ones available through Runner's World or RunKeeper.

^^^^ This. I'm doing C25k and it's a good transition to running. I'm jogging pretty slow, kinda the speed of a speed walk but I'll work on speed after I get the endurance. I can do about 2 miles now.

kylTKe

Carson is right, you should not discuss stride length, turnover, or (in my opinion) foot strike with new runners. It overcomplicates the the simplest exercise in the world and will most likely cause them problems as they attempt to stay within a specific frequency and stride length.

Additionally, trying to stay at 180 bpm to try and emulate elite runners is silly. Length and frequency are not causes of speed, they are by-products of it. Speed is affected mainly by your cardiovascular strength, which allows you to run at a faster frequency (possibly with a longer stride). You generally can't take a runner (with decent form), change their frequency or stride length and make them faster (maybe more efficient).

militarydreams

As for your formula. What is speed measured in? Strike Frequency per foot?

Strike frequency per foot? lol. Speed is proportional to distance and inversely proportional to time. Take our formula SPEED = STRIKE RATE X STRIDE LENGTH. Notice that strike rate is measured in strikes PER minute or strikes/minute then multiply that by stride length and you get (STRIKES X STRIDE LENGTH) / MINUTE. To recap, the distance is strikes * stride length and the time is in minutes (aka whatever you measure your stride length in... per minute). It would be trivial to convert it to a standard speed representation.

I have no idea where you get strike frequency per foot as a measure of speed... and now I'm sure you're just having a giggle so I'm off :laugh:

militarydreams

double post

militarydreams

Additionally, trying to stay at 180 bpm to try and emulate elite runners is silly.

Only elite runners maintain a high strike rate? Seems strange to me.

Length and frequency are not causes of speed, they are by-products of it.

Another one hopping on the cause-effect bandwagon, the pair of you need to think very carefully about what it is that you're trying to say. Length and frequency are factors of speed... as speed increases, so does one of it's factors, as one of the factors increases, so does speed (or the other factor decreases). You're reducing this entire thing to a 'chicken or the egg' scenario for no reason.

If you want to say that a begginner should concentrate on form before speed then that's great... just say that.