Are some people just physically not cut out for running?

cbevan1229

If you're out of breath, I would guess you need to run slower. I know the C25K website says that the biggest mistake most beginning runners make is trying to go too fast. They recommend that if it is possible to run slower, than you should. I've been using a treadmill, which helps control my pace.

And there is no shame in repeating week 3 as many times as you need to. You're doing this for you, right? Then you should do it whatever way works for you.

On the same line of thought, if you hate it, then there is no shame in switching out for a fitness routine that you enjoy. Exercise should be work, hard work even, but it shouldn't be torture.

astrampe

I still feel like that some days....and I've been running for 5 years now!:bigsmile: Take it slow...as long as nothing is chasing you, you don't have to go fast...Talk or sing, if you can't do that, you are going to fast....Just make sure you turn the sound off when passing people - a crazy, tone deaf lady singing out loud tend to scare some people off the sidewalk.....:blushing: I know....:bigsmile:

ndj1979

I have never been a distance runner..I prefer sprint intervals...sprint for 30 seconds all out, rest 60 seconds - repeat 8-10 times...cut back on the rest once you get used to the sprints...sounds nutz, but i actually enjoy the sprinting...

ndj1979

Only reason to run: bad guy chasing you.

lol what if it is a cute guy? Run the other way? Just having some fun. ..

slkehl

If anyone isn't built to be a runner, it's me. I have bad scoliosis, my femurs attach to my hips toward the front of my legs instead of on the side, my rib cage is inverted making breathing difficult. But I saw paralympians running who had much greater challenges than me. I thought, if people can run with one lung, I can train myself to breath with my diaphragm. I can get shoes to correct my legs. And you know what? I run just about every day now! I took forever for my body to adapt, but it was so worth it!

ndj1979

If anyone isn't built to be a runner, it's me. I have bad scoliosis, my femurs attach to my hips toward the front of my legs instead of on the side, my rib cage is inverted making breathing difficult. But I saw paralympians running who had much greater challenges than me. I thought, if people can run with one lung, I can train myself to breath with my diaphragm. I can get shoes to correct my legs. And you know what? I run just about every day now! I took forever for my body to adapt, but it was so worth it!

that is freaking awesome! You go girl!

tbear760307

I'm in week 4 of a couch to 5K, and will probably be repeating this week at least once. I've never run a day in my life before this, so the first weeks have been very hard. BUT...when I can get in the mental zone where it's only the music and the beat of my feet on the road (instead of having to focus on inhaling and exhaling so I don't die)...THAT is why I'm doing this. The best bits of advice I've been given so far from friends who run are "easing into running doesn't mean easy, so don't give up just cuz it hurts" and "SLOW DOWN, it's not a race. You can build speed later, now is the time to build endurance". Best of luck to you.

anemoneprose

No idea what happened in that other thread. All I know is:
- hated running until I tried it as an adult - couldn't breathe, biomechanically was effed (flat feet, pronation, weird angles, soft ankles, etc)
- loved running for a while - did a gradual beginner program, got obsessed with form, did my best to apply it
- got a stress fracture, PF (x2), arthritis
- have since been told by health pros that i never should have put on the bloody shoes (btw got max stability ones, at a running store, gait analysis etc)

I admire the 'go hard or go home' attitude so often found among runners. And I LOVED running for the little while I tried it.

But I think between running culture and the million ways people do it wrong, and especially for very overweight people (and probably women, given hips etc), it's probably safer to stay away from it unless you seek out personal, individualized training in running. And are younger vs older.

I'm pissed about the whole thing. Maybe some of those things might have happened anyway, but I've been TOLD running helped them along (or directly caused them, in the case of PF).

SMJ1987

It's not so much my lungs...I know I don't have asthma. It's more like my body just feels weak, like I have NO energy. Like I couldn't take another step even if someone were coming at me with a chainsaw. haha

I think as long as it's not your joints hurting or any other sharp pains, then you can do it. If you can do other high intensity cardio workouts then there is no reason why running should make you more out of breath. My suggestion? Wear a HRM and make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard.

GoldspursX3

you are human, you were born to run.

ummm no... if humans were "born to run" we would be on all fours running like leopards and wolves.

ummmm...yes. Our ancestors would chase after wild game, such as deer, until their prey was exhausted and were easy pickings. We might not be able to match them in speed but we make up for it in endurance.

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

I'm one of those people too. I don't like running although I tried to "love" it before but its making me feel worse after & no I'm not talking about muscle soreness after a run, I'm talking about feeling extremely weak & tired to the point of fainting. I can deadlift almost 100lbs., squat at 80lbs., do 100 push-ups (I mean the real one & not that girly thing), 10 pull-ups, swim for 2 hours, can dance for hours or bike at 30 minutes but a 15 minute running or jogging is a hell of a challenge for me. Plus I simply find running very boring.

anemoneprose

you are human, you were born to run.

ummm no... if humans were "born to run" we would be on all fours running like leopards and wolves.

ummmm...yes. Our ancestors would chase after wild game, such as deer, until their prey was exhausted and were easy pickings. We might not be able to match them in speed but we make up for it in endurance.

Yeah, I'm not sure it would have made sense to spend more than a little bit of time at once, running. Too metabolically expensive. Would make more sense for most of us to have walked, most of the time.

Is there a history of running somewhere?

jchocchip

I am not cut out to be a runner, I couldn't run for a bus last year. BUT last Christmas I downloaded the c25k podcasts from http://www.nhs.uk/LiveWell/c25k/Pages/couch-to-5k.aspx#close and ran the program in 9 weeks (starting when I was 280 lbs) Very very slowly. I now run 5k most Saturdays with parkrun http://www.parkrun.com/home

I run at about walking pace for some people and usually do it in about 50 minutes and finish towards the end of the field, but I've not been last for a while. I believe almost anyone can be a runner. SLOW right down, follow the podcasts and you can do this. Speed will come later.

GoldspursX3

you are human, you were born to run.

ummm no... if humans were "born to run" we would be on all fours running like leopards and wolves.

ummmm...yes. Our ancestors would chase after wild game, such as deer, until their prey was exhausted and were easy pickings. We might not be able to match them in speed but we make up for it in endurance.

Yeah, I'm not sure it would have made sense to spend more than a little bit of time at once, running. Too metabolically expensive. Would make more sense for most of us to have walked, most of the time.

Is there a history of running somewhere?

It would make perfect sense to spend some time running when going after big game. The amount of energy you could draw from consuming these animals more than makes up for what we would expend.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=256348&page=1

Here is the first link I came across when doing a simple google search.

richardnblock

My own experience is this: Even if it's slow as hell, progress in running stamina and proficiency is possible for many people who are willing to work through frustration. It's not guaranteed, and you should definitely listen to your body as you go (is that a normal muscle ache, or is it a twinge from an overuse injury?), and it is hard as hell, but it can be done. To a point.

I can only offer my own experience to explain why I think that way. I have short, thick legs, flattish feet, a serious overpronating problem, an uncanny talent for hurting myself in ridiculous ways, and an entire childhood and adolescence spent doing anything but athletics. I was once about 290, then mild dietary changes got me down to about 250.

A few years ago, I started hour-long cardio sessions several times per week, along with a strict diet, and lost close to seventy more pounds. I decided I was gonna condition myself to run three miles without stopping, come hell or high water. At the start, five minutes of slow, shuffling jogging would leave me ready to collapse; I'd finish out the hour with walking and elliptical machine time. A few months, though, I was jogging at like 5 mph for ten minutes, then fifteen, then one fine day my legs just kept going. I finished a half-hour-long jog and was amazed — I had never jogged continuously for more than one mile in my life, and that only once in high school. It was sheer will that one time, and I wanted to die afterward. Wound up getting to like six or seven miles regularly.

Then I got an overuse injury that interrupted my running habit on and off for a couple years, and I've been "just getting back into it" for some time now. I'm back up to three miles — and back up to a weight I'd prefer to be far below, but that's what the running's for. I have been building stamina back up after a string of nagging knee and back injuries and weird upper respiratory infections, and I tried C25K as a way to get me off the sidelines. I found it really difficult to keep up with — even though I have more than five years of running behind me, if you overlook the forced layoffs. I'm just now getting to the 5K end, weeks after I should have already been there.

Of course, lots of people are probably even less naturally disposed to running than I am. Injuries, illnesses, anatomy, hatred — there are all kinds of reasons someone wouldn't make a runner, and it is between the person concerned and maybe his or her doctor to determine if running is OK or not. But if it's a simple lack of progress that's frustrating you, I can attest that sometimes, progress comes in spurts after you've started to get frustrated and question whether you're ever going to be able to do this damned running thing. That's where I was when I started back in 2006. Today, I run like a sedated rhinoceros on figure skates, but I run.

TL,DR: Don't give up. Even if you can only eke out a few KM per week with lots of walking in between, that's better than lots of people — and better than you were doing before beginning. And you'll likely get better, although your patience may be sorely tested first.

destro748

From my experience, I've always hated running. In high school, the longest that I was able to run was about 1/4 mile. My sprints were fine, just the long distance would just kill me. I didn't learn to enjoy running until I was mid way through P90x. The key isn't your legs but rather your lungs and the plyometrics were great for that.

Martina_Who

Perhaps its because you are underweight that your body simply does not have the necessary stamina to keep going.

Smuterella

I'm wondering exactly what you mean by "can't get through week 3." Are you unable to finish the workout, or are you just not feeling ready to move onto the next week? If you are stopping, is it because of pain in your legs/feet, or because you're out of breath?

I can finish the week three workout, but just barely...and sometimes I have to stop the run segments a few seconds early because I just can't keep going. Out of breath...feel nauseous, like I'm going to pass out

I tried to just push on and do week 4 day 1 twice this week, and did horribly. I feel like there is no sense in moving on until I can complete week 3 with more success.

Try going slower, really, C25K is supposed to be run VERY slow.

MorganLeighRN

Here's a question for you: When you say that you physically CAN'T do it, do you mean that you feel like you can't get enough oxygen to your muscles? I started running again (for the 3 time) in February. I got to the point where I physically could not run and I had only run a few meters. Previously I had started running and had been running for quite a few months but I could not run a full mile. I was tired all of the time and I never got any better. This February I was diagnosed with asthma. My doctor prescribed an inhaler to me and it has made a WORLD of a difference. Talk to your doctor about it and see if they will test you for asthma. Best of luck and feel free to add me as a friend!

It's not so much my lungs...I know I don't have asthma. It's more like my body just feels weak, like I have NO energy. Like I couldn't take another step even if someone were coming at me with a chainsaw. haha

What do you eat before you run? I used to never eat because I thought that it would make me sick. Once I started eating oatmeal, protein bar, power bar, etc it became a LOT easier. When I ran my half marathon over the summer I ate a bowl of oatmeal in the car and than a bagel with cream cheese 20 mins before the race and it worked great for me. Play around with it and find what works for you.

tabbykat6802

Running is not in my past, present or future. I have exercise induced asthma. Even brisk walking up several flights of stairs leaves me breathing hard. Even when I weighed much less years ago, I had to use an inhaler at the top as I rushed to make it to my college classes. I have stopped having to use the meds and I am not gasping as much. I still workout and push myself hard, but I know that something are out of my reach.