Running and getting winded

Run slower, take walk breaks. You need to develop your aerobic fitness.

Slow down even more. You've probably seen it before, but it's said that you should be able to have short bursts of a conversation while running. If you can't do that, you're going at it too hard.
Best of luck!

The same thing happens to me. I started blood pressure medicine with a pregnancy and running became much easier so I feel like I want to take the meds forever....

Run slower, take walk breaks. You need to develop your aerobic fitness.

This, maybe try 15 minutes run, 3 minutes walk X 4 sessions and reduce the walk times as you get more fit.

i find interval training is a good way of building aerobic capacity for longer runs.
For example, 5 min warm up, 4mins of hard running (so you feel your lungs working hard), then 90 seconds of walking to get your heart rate and breathing back down. Repeat for a number of reps (eg, 6). Then a 5 min cool down.

I find I always struggle at particular points in a run. I've assumed this is something to do with lactic acid etc. I struggle towards the end of mile 1, 3, 6 and 10. If I can push through these points, I can generally keep going. But there's *always* a point where I think 'blurgh, I can't do this'.... Does that perhaps resonate with your experience?

How are you breathing? If your breathing fast and hard through your mouth, you'll get winded quicker. Breathe through your nose and back out your mouth. It helps slow your breathing and lets you control it better.

I've been running for over three years and have just recently gotten to where I don't sound like a dying buffalo when I run. Hang in there. That should get better with time

I listened to an ultrarunner talk about training for a marathon and he said the same thing as everyone above. He said it is more important to do longer times than distance to increase your aerobic fitness level. He suggested the walk run intervals and suggested to continue to increase your time spent doing these. He said slower running for a longer time period is more benefitial than faster running for a shorter time.

I could have written this post myself, I was like you, running along and feeling like the slowest on the block, then i discovered ' Podrunner Intervals (Google it) The first day to 5 k program, great to get you going, a 10 week program. Music changes rythm to signal change from walk to run and vice versa.Little by littlle you build up to steady running for 30 mins( and able to have a chat with yr buddy as well.)there is also a second and thrd stage; GATEWAY TO 8K and FREEWAY TO 10K. slightly addicted to STAGE ONE program, but whatever works is good for you.

everyone is different... it just takes practice... im not overly fit, but I like to push myself... ive been running for only about 6 weeks now, I already just about doubledthe amount I run of the 4km, knocked 5 mins off my time and I have noticed my recovery when I take a walk break is much quicker and I am ready to run again... when I am ready to run again I pick a point and that is my goal from now and forever! I really want to run the whole 4km that would be fantastic I find with my strength training that my legs feels warn about the same time as my breathing wants a break too... I make a mental decision not to rest but to push myself to the landmark I have chosen as my goal...ps no part of me is built to run, I guess if you ever seen a walrus running on the beach (thats me, but a little less blubber :P) but I make a mental decision to push myself because my goal is to go from walrus to gazelle...

Obviously slowing down is #1.

My second suggestion, that I didn't see (apologies if I missed it) would be to focus on your breathing when it gets labored. Get into a rythmic cycle "left foot, right foot, inhale. . . left foot right foot, exhale repeat. Focussing on your breathing may well get you through the rough patch. Also, don't be afraid to take a big deep "settle down" breath. I need to do that when I'm pushing at a higher pace than usual or just having a bad run.

And, walk breaks aren't the end of the world!!

Good Luck!

Team,
I've been training for an upcoming 10K, still I find that by mile 3 or 4 I am winded/tired but my legs are ok (not sore). No asthma or smoking history. Any thoughts? I run pretty slow, maybe a 13 minute mile.

I did 10k this morning and for some reason today I felt a bit "bleh" after about 3 miles so I just slowed down a bit till I felt I had recovered and within a mile I was back to feeling good. When I got home and looked at my pace apparently the sub-9 miles were just a bit much today.

9:13, 8:48, 8:57, 9:11, 9:13, 9:10

I did the same workout at an 8:40 average last week. Today just wasn't my day. No worries. No shame in slowing down. I'm doing a workout not a race. Just dropping 10-15 seconds a mile made a nice difference. You don't have to run drastically slower, just slow it down a tad.

This is an excellent illustration of running by effort in order to stay in the aerobic range. Exactly right, it's a workout not a race.

My easy run pace can vary from 8:30 minute mile to 10:00 minute mile depending on how I feel. How I feel can be impacted by a lot of things, like the previous day(s) workouts, the weather, what I have eaten, how much sleep I have gotten or just how my body decides to respond on a given day.

So, run easy, by effort. Don't look at the watch. Just keep it at that conversational pace and keep going.

Team,
I've been training for an upcoming 10K, still I find that by mile 3 or 4 I am winded/tired but my legs are ok (not sore). No asthma or smoking history. Any thoughts? I run pretty slow, maybe a 13 minute mile.

That has always been my biggest obstacle with running, is that I get winded (and bored). My legs can always push through.

You need to build up your aerobic base. Other aerobic activities will help with this, as well as continuing to run.

The reason you get winded is because the oxygen demand from the working muscles is greater than you body can deliver right now.

There are two solutions.
1. Ignore the breathlessness and keep pushing while breathing increasingly harder.
2. Increase your body's ability to deliver oxygen by running longer at an easier pace - one where you are not breathless.

Solution number 2 is better. Over time you will run faster without getting winded.