Running for Ultra-Beginners

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  • LyssaJ1
    LyssaJ1 Posts: 240 Member
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    Thank you for posting this question. I've seen the Couch to 5k program mentioned around the forums and so far, no really negative reviews...but folks definitely said 'don't push it too hard, to fast, as you may risk injury." There are "acceptable" and "unacceptable" kinds of pains, but only *you* know your body and have to recognize the difference.

    Brief background: I used to run, about 15 years ago at the latest, when the Air Force had it mandatory for once a year. Even basic training (showing my age here, 21 years ago) killed my shins...even with stretching exercises first.

    Now I'm in a place where *I* can control how fast, how far.

    Thanks to everyone who responded to the OP, as I will do off-forum research of the Cto5K program :smile:
  • christinafadia
    christinafadia Posts: 16
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    bump :)
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I don't feel out of breath when I run, my legs just feel heavy very quickly. What can I do to avoid that?
    Slow down, or run for shorter intervals with walks in between. The heavy legs may be the onset of lactic acid building up, so you need to allow it to disperse. As you train the blood flow to the muscles seems to improve and shift it quicker.

    I started doing C25K with a pace of about 8 minutes per mile when the intervals were really short. On the longer ones now I'm going at more like 12 minutes per mile. The "heavy legs" thing hits me too.

    I have a phone app that knows the program and tells me my pace every 2 minutes - http://www.rundouble.com/

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