Running Question

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  • Kickinkim418
    Kickinkim418 Posts: 257 Member
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    We all have days like this!!!! No worries, just keep going!!!! You'll get it figured out!!! With me, the air quality and weather tend to be big factors in my running and also my diet. When the air quality is bad or the weather is warmer, I struggle with my breathing. Try eating a banana and or banana with peanut butter before you run...HTH!!! You are doing fantastic...just keep going and it will eventually come together!
  • 365andstillalive
    365andstillalive Posts: 663 Member
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    I'm relatively new to running, but I've noticed that if I run multiple days in a row, my times and distance suffer, which is just my body needing more rest.

    I've started changing my routine, now some days I do a workout video (I'm loving Shaun T's Hip Hop Abs right now haha) and then if I feel like it, run the block around my house (which is 1.2k, so a little shy of a mile); then I'll do longer runs other days so that I'm not over working the muscles. I'm currently doing 2-3 rest days a week.
  • witsend79
    witsend79 Posts: 19 Member
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    You sound like you don't want a solution. There isn't anything that can magically change to prevent you running for another 11-13minutes. Nothing apart from your attitude towards the task. Eating differently, drinking differently, sleeping more, sleeping less- none of it makes a jot of difference when you're talking this sort of distance. Sometimes you just have to knuckle down and do it.
  • runningforicecream
    runningforicecream Posts: 89
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    Since I don't want this thread to go down that road, let me reiterate.

    My difficulty here is not in my attitude towards running. Rather it's the fact that I am completely exhausted (out of breath, physically tired) at that point when I have not encountered this problem in my past runs. It's a physical barrier.

    While I concede that running is often a mental game, this is not the case here.

    My point in asking this question is to find out if anyone else encounters this problem of not having any difficulties running for a certain amount of time/ distance, in fact, perfectly capable of exceeding said limit in the past and suddenly found themselves stonewalled.
  • runningforicecream
    runningforicecream Posts: 89
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    Seems like it may very well be the air quality/ temperature. It has been a little hazy here these last couple of weeks. I shall monitor it and see if there's a change in performance.

    I appreciate all your inputs. :flowerforyou:
  • runrev2014
    runrev2014 Posts: 4
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    I have found that adding a good leg workout before a rest day, and then running again gets me over that hump. Also, you might want to vary your workout with intervals. Walk to warm up (5 minutes or so), then run at a pace that will make you feel breathless in about 3-5 minutes (don't use your clock on the treadmill, just go until you are tired), then walk until you are breathing easily. Repeat this several times. Remember to cool down walk at the end. I know this is similar to the C25K, but use your self-knowledge to change up your intervals.
  • mathmatt
    mathmatt Posts: 58 Member
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    I had this problem when I was first starting out running. When I started increasing my distance I had to start eating something about 10mins before my run. The best thing I found that helped was 2 dates, 4 almonds and a teaspoon of coconut oil. Running for about 20-30 mins I didn't do the coconut oil as I was still metabolizing sugars at that point but going out for longer than 45mins, I would add in the coconut oil.
  • mathmatt
    mathmatt Posts: 58 Member
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    I also find it easier outside since I can pick a point a little bit a way and tell myself 'just to that tree' then I make it to that tree and say 'little further, how about that stump up there.' Mind games...
  • cappri
    cappri Posts: 1,089 Member
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    Any chance you are at all anemic? I know that right before I found out I was, running any distance at all was a real struggle, which was strange for me.
  • dawnmcneil10
    dawnmcneil10 Posts: 638 Member
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    I had a very similar thing happen to me, I was up to running around 4 miles, did a 5k mud run and then for over a week I couldn't seem to get more than a mile in. I run outside all the time so winter should prove interesting. I had listened to the advice of others, drink while running, use energy tables/chews to keep up, make sure to fuel up first and I tried all of them. After 2 weeks of struggling I quit it all, went back to my 3-4 miles at a time running around a 12 minute mile and I'm right back to comfortable and feeling great. I have noticed the time of day I run makes a difference though. I personally run best on weekend mornings, no food in the tummy just coffee/water. My next best is late in the afternoon about 2 hours after my last snack and before dinner.

    Not sure if that will help you or not but yes, I've struggled too. Sometimes it really takes just going back to basics, run a quarter mile or half mile then recover with walking for half that and then go right back to it, I did that for a few days and then I was back to the old running style and quite happy.

    Good luck to you, I hope you find whatever your own personal issue is and no you are NOT alone.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Seems like it may very well be the air quality/ temperature. It has been a little hazy here these last couple of weeks. I shall monitor it and see if there's a change in performance.

    My wife is very sensitive to poor air quality and gets winded easily when the air is bad, especially if it's also warm. This was a big problem when we lived in Paris, since it's in a basin and there are a lot of cars and other pollution emitters.

    If you're following the C25K plan and resting at least 1 day between runs, it's unlikely to be overtraining, but there's a chance it is. Maybe you should try taking a 3-day break and see whether that makes a difference.
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    Are you taking a break in between running days? I find that I need 2-3 days to feel back to where I need to be after I've done a longer run. So, if I take a longer run on Sunday, then it's usually Wednesday before I run again. If I try to run on Monday or Tuesday, I may as well just give up because even 1 miles seems too difficult and long. Plus, Sundays are my outside run days, the rest of the week I run on a treadmill, which I totally hate. I get so bored that I can hardly push though.
  • halliesheck
    halliesheck Posts: 8 Member
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    Hey! I feel you on this. It can be very discouraging. For me the hips play a bigger roll in endurance than I originally realized. Even if they don't give you a red flag while going about your run (like they don't hurt or anything), they still tend to tense up on runners/bikers without us even realizing it sometimes (and definitely on desk job folks, like myself!). I notice a big difference when I pay attention to stretching out the ol' hip flexors, even in my breathing/endurance; it's as though my body isn't as stressed out trying to compensate for an integral muscle group being tense/weak. Hope this helps, and good luck!

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