Question for Runners: Its All in my Head?

annpatalexa
annpatalexa Posts: 38 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I think the issue I'm having running this week is more in my head then in my lungs. Yesterday and Friday I had a really tough time with week 4 of C25K and ended up quitting. Today I still ended up quitting but it took me longer cause I tried to pep talk myself into it working a bit better. This week is Jog 3 Min, Walk 90 sec, Jog 5 minutes walk 3 min, repeat once.

Either I'll get phantom knee pain that will disappear as soon as I start walking or my lungs will be flaming but not asthma attack flaming and calm down after walking 30 or 40 seconds.

Question for runners, how do you convince your brain that your lungs and legs aren't going to give out on you?

Replies

  • LoneWolfRunner
    LoneWolfRunner Posts: 1,160 Member
    That indeed is the battle.... I believe that running is more mental than physical....which is what draws me to it. How far can I push myself? How much pain and discomfort can I endure and fight through? (I am not talking about the pain when you KNOW you have injured yourself). I have had both my hips replaced twice because of arthritis... I never thought I would run... but at age 53, I started anyway. It was not easy and it was not fun, but dealing with arthritis since I was fourteen taught me a lot about pain and my limits.

    I like the head game of running... I like pushing myself through pain barriers... I like accomplishing things my own brain tried to talk me out of... I did my first 5k three months after I started running... my first 10k three months after that, my first half-marathon a month after that...and on my one year anniversary of running I did a 30k trail race... this past April, I did my first 50k and in October I am going for my first 50 mile race. My only point is this...I don't let my brain tell me I can't do anything, even if it hurts and is uncomfortable and everything in my head and body is telling me to stop...every time I push through a pain barrier or a fatigue wall, I find myself doing another "impossible"....

    Don't give up... push yourself (not stupidly, but stubbornly and incessantly) and you will be thrilled with your own "impossibles"...
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Question for runners, how do you convince your brain that your lungs and legs aren't going to give out on you?

    Mind games

    Keep going until that tree, then the next tree I set, the top of the rise, then a downhill is easier.

    Sometimes it just hurts. On Sunday I did a 10 miler and the second mile was hel, but I just had to keep going until it got easier.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I don't. If my knees and lungs are screaming for me to walk, I walk. I mean, I know what you're saying and sometimes you push through it because you know you'll be ok. But running shouldn't be torture, either.

    I'm exploring knee support options to see if it helps me and I think it is.

    Are you outdoors or on a treadmill? If on a treadmill, is incline walking a lot easier to control your heart rate and knee pain?
  • LoneWolfRunner
    LoneWolfRunner Posts: 1,160 Member
    For me, the treadmill is more of a mind-F than running outside...
  • liberaltendencies
    liberaltendencies Posts: 150 Member
    I'd say it's definitely in your head. I've grown accustomed to that panic while practicing hot power yoga. Feeling like you can't breathe/can't do this a second longer in a packed room that's 105 and humid will really do something to a person. I'm getting back into running and I try to remind myself that just like in yoga (and most everything else, for that matter) there are good days and bad days. That's why we keep practicing to get more good days. Especially with C25k it's all part of the experience. The big thing is, keep going. Don't say you're "quitting" if you're walking, just repeat a week, a day, it doesn't matter... just keep going. You CAN do it!
  • DAM5412
    DAM5412 Posts: 660 Member
    Yes, and no.

    First, are you warming up properly? I was finding myself struggling with many of the things you mentioned (harsh breathing; achy knees, hips, ankles; foot pain; side stitches) around .5 - 1 mile marks. I realized my little 10 sec walk down my driveway just wasn't enough for me. So now I try to walk and actively stretch a bit for about .5 miles and that seems to help. Also, I figured out that I felt better after doing some proper stretching, so I make sure to do that more consistently. Finally, if I eat like crap for a few days, like I did last week while on vacation, running is tougher.

    Of course, it's still a head game for me also and I am having fun figuring out what makes me tick. Most days, I just tell myself I can push a little further or run a little faster. Some days (like today, I did 3+ miles) it works, and others (like Sunday, when I split walked/jogged 2), it doesn't. But I just keep trying.

    Give yourself a goal. A "race" (and as a new, not very fast runner, I use that term sarcastically) or distance thing. For me, I did my first 5k two weeks ago (started the C35K program in April, finished it in June) and have signed up for two more (next on 9/6 and then 10/11). I also have started a more serious "training" program and have set a local geographic goal. I live 2 miles from the high school. So I am challenging myself to run there and back. No time on it, just to be able to do it. This morning I ran there and partly back, then felt tired. So I walked a little at the 2.5 mile mark, then ran for another mile and then walked the rest.

    For me, I really just like to be done with it! So, looking back at how much I have done over the past few months is very motivating. Oh, and I use MapMyRun and have a few friends on there who are fairly competitive, so if I see they are killing it in their workouts, it makes me want to do the same.

    I just say, keep at it. You will get better at it. You will get stronger.
  • annpatalexa
    annpatalexa Posts: 38 Member
    Are you outdoors or on a treadmill? If on a treadmill, is incline walking a lot easier to control your heart rate and knee pain?

    Most the time I'm doing outdoor. I can't seem to get a pace that I don't step on the plastic parts on a treadmill.
  • annpatalexa
    annpatalexa Posts: 38 Member
    Yes, and no.

    First, are you warming up properly? I was finding myself struggling with many of the things you mentioned (harsh breathing; achy knees, hips, ankles; foot pain; side stitches) around .5 - 1 mile marks. I realized my little 10 sec walk down my driveway just wasn't enough for me. So now I try to walk and actively stretch a bit for about .5 miles and that seems to help. Also, I figured out that I felt better after doing some proper stretching, so I make sure to do that more consistently. Finally, if I eat like crap for a few days, like I did last week while on vacation, running is tougher.

    Of course, it's still a head game for me also and I am having fun figuring out what makes me tick. Most days, I just tell myself I can push a little further or run a little faster. Some days (like today, I did 3+ miles) it works, and others (like Sunday, when I split walked/jogged 2), it doesn't. But I just keep trying.

    Give yourself a goal. A "race" (and as a new, not very fast runner, I use that term sarcastically) or distance thing. For me, I did my first 5k two weeks ago (started the C35K program in April, finished it in June) and have signed up for two more (next on 9/6 and then 10/11). I also have started a more serious "training" program and have set a local geographic goal. I live 2 miles from the high school. So I am challenging myself to run there and back. No time on it, just to be able to do it. This morning I ran there and partly back, then felt tired. So I walked a little at the 2.5 mile mark, then ran for another mile and then walked the rest.

    For me, I really just like to be done with it! So, looking back at how much I have done over the past few months is very motivating. Oh, and I use MapMyRun and have a few friends on there who are fairly competitive, so if I see they are killing it in their workouts, it makes me want to do the same.

    I just say, keep at it. You will get better at it. You will get stronger.

    The C25K ap has me walking the first 5 minutes. So I've been doing that.

    Nonracegoal- I would like to be able to run/jog the sidewalks in my development. My current loop is about half of it which is 1.7 miles.

    Near Goal is the 5K part of the Philly Rock and Roll Half Marathon in September. And the Far goal is January's New Orleans Rock and Roll Half Marathon.

    I've been using RunKeeper but it seems to be spazzing on me so I'll try MapmyRun and see if it does the same. I'm thinking its the GPS in my phone not the ap itself.
  • annpatalexa
    annpatalexa Posts: 38 Member
    Don't give up... push yourself (not stupidly, but stubbornly and incessantly) and you will be thrilled with your own "impossibles"...

    I've given that advice to others in regards to losing weight (I lost 40 pounds before grad school and then gained it back). Its weird and a little funny to get my own medicine. :laugh:
  • coral_b
    coral_b Posts: 264 Member
    Try Endomondo for logging runs, it seems to get GPS signal better than MapMyRun- always used to pause under clouds!!!
    Bit random, but if your chest feels dry out doors try chewing gum. Also- do you have allergies? I never get any at all. However, after having really dry painful lungs for many runs, I did a lot of research and tried taking antihistamines daily- chest issues gone! As I run in a park I figure it is some for of hayfever. Either way the antihistamines work!
    As for the mental barrier, you just have to want the result. The runners high, the next goal or milestone. You might always have days where it's just a tough run. You will get there, and if you enjoy it just embrace the pain and stick at it! Also C25K is amazing!! I did it last year to get into running. I've since taken 10 minutes off my initial time!
  • yc4king
    yc4king Posts: 117 Member
    That indeed is the battle.... I believe that running is more mental than physical....which is what draws me to it. How far can I push myself? How much pain and discomfort can I endure and fight through? (I am not talking about the pain when you KNOW you have injured yourself). I have had both my hips replaced twice because of arthritis... I never thought I would run... but at age 53, I started anyway. It was not easy and it was not fun, but dealing with arthritis since I was fourteen taught me a lot about pain and my limits.

    I like the head game of running... I like pushing myself through pain barriers... I like accomplishing things my own brain tried to talk me out of... I did my first 5k three months after I started running... my first 10k three months after that, my first half-marathon a month after that...and on my one year anniversary of running I did a 30k trail race... this past April, I did my first 50k and in October I am going for my first 50 mile race. My only point is this...I don't let my brain tell me I can't do anything, even if it hurts and is uncomfortable and everything in my head and body is telling me to stop...every time I push through a pain barrier or a fatigue wall, I find myself doing another "impossible"....

    Don't give up... push yourself (not stupidly, but stubbornly and incessantly) and you will be thrilled with your own "impossibles"...

    ^^^ All of this. I enjoy it specifically because of the mind game.

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