Am I really supposed to be jogging so slow?

I can't stand when people try to put jogging and running into speed categories. If you aren't walking, you're running! I've been a RUNNER for about 4 years now. I'm a slow runner, but I'm a runner. I think of a jogger as someone who goes out to the park in their matching track suit and jogs 1/2 mile and then does it again maybe a week later. I think it puts a negative associating when someone is just starting out. They think they need to run much faster than they should just so they can be called a "runner".

Great post baldzach. It was long enough that I did not want to quote it here, but good job.

Thanks.

i KNOW i can walk faster than the pace i am jogging at right now!!!! i just tell my brain to shut up and keep going. you WILL pick up speed as you go but for right now don't focus on speed, just complete the workout.

GREAT POINT.
Walking is much different than jogging/running.
Don't focus on speed. Focus on that form and keeping moving!

Great post Jeff! LSD....long slow distance!!! It's a hard lesson for new runners to learn. They always want to go too fast (I was one of them when I first started). I'm at peace with my slowness now and proud of the miles I can run.

LOL Anzura! When I started out running, I ran past an older fellow who said and I quote "We'll see you at mile 18"...

No word of a lie, As I started to fade later in the race, He caught up to me at mile 18, patted me on the back, encouraged me to keep going and then passed me by.

A hard lesson, but one that I have learned since...

Slow and steady wins the race.

This is a great question -- i am alternating intervals to find the right pace -- and the biggest question for me (coming from a background of doing long distance walks) is how do you best build up the stamina in your legs for doing more distance? --

I've been running only about a month usually 3 or 4 days about 5 - 7 K per run... Leg pain is what stops me now about 50 minutes to an hour in (street running and it's pretty hilly around here ,too<ouch!>)... not the cardio but the hammering mostly in my upper thighs and calves to a lesser extent

The only way to build your stamina is to go more distance - work through the pain. There WILL be pain, but you have to determine if it's the kind of pain that is just dicomfort, or debilitating/injurous pain. Once your body gets used to going a certain distance, these pains go away. I heard a quote from a marathon trainer : "Try to make your short runs faster and your long runs longer." I try to live by that (I run half marathons). If you are trying to build up endurance, just work/focus on the distance rather than the speed. I do my long runs at about 5-5.5 mph (slower if I'm adding a lot of distance) and my short runs at 6.5mph. Hills hurt but great if you are training for a race! ) Find a flat route if you can and try the longer distances there first. You know, it's fine to walk for part of your long run, too. Hope this helps.

your pace will get quicker? maybe maybe not I call myself a jogger. I have jogged off and on for years right now I jog just once a week but through other fittness programs I have worked my miles from 1 to now 8 every Sunday. am I any faster? no sometimes 12 min miles sometimes 13 + min miles I use to care and think I should be faster but htis would hurt my feet and knees so, really why. I love my run it's time for me ,its time in the great outdoor I don't feel I need to prove anything or rush that. Find your pace improve in distance or speed if you want if you don't thats ok it's your run not anyone elses.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Absolutely!!!

I wanted to add that i agree with this. I wasn't trying at all to offend anyone with my comment earlier. When I first started, I had many, MANY workouts at 3.0/3.5. I certainly wasn't trying to say that 3.0 wasn't a work out. It absolutely can be!! Work at your pace and you will do great!

great post Jeff!

I too started out slowly, in time you will get faster.

One thing that I have found is that interval training ie: go 1 min up (faster speed), one min down (walk speed), two min up, two down, three min up-increase speed by one each min, three min down....well you get the picture. I found this interval training to be a great help. I noticed a difference in my speed the more interval training i did.

Also, as my husband says, work on your distance first, then work on your speed.

I started with running three minutes, walking three, etc. It all takes time.

I found that my ipod was a great help. ..."just make it to the end of this song."..was my mantra.

Just looked back at our times, when we first started our miles were 15 min miles, three months in were are closer to 8 min miles.

Patience is a great thing.

Good Luck!

"Jeff Galloway thinks that you must be a competitive runner who wins races before you can call yourself a real runner."

I've always thought that was a bit drastic. Recreational basketball players still play basketball even though they won't ever play on a pro team, recreational golfers still golf even though they may never win an event, etc. So recreational runners who won't will a race still are runners.

Just going to "second" what several have said here.

You should go at a pace that is comfortable so that you can keep running longer. You build endurance, then speed. I'm a former runner returning after many years off. I was amazed that my beginner jog was as slow as walking. It is normal! Keep at it and the speed will develop.

If you run too fast for your level you: Won't enjoy it and won't stick to it; Might injure yourself; Won't be able to run as long and you want ENDURANCE first; Might cheat on form in order to maintain speed (thus developing a bad habit and possibly injure yourself). When I started running again, I didn't even look at speed or distance - just time! That's where you have to start: time spent running.

When you're a beginner, your progression is faster and more dramatic. So, don't worry, you'll get faster before you know it. Just stick with it! Congrats on your new adventures in running!

I love jogging and usually don't go over 5 mph. But I hurt my foot recently so I decided that I wasn't going to hurt it more by landing on it with the jog. So I slowed it down to a natural walk for my height and leg length and up'd the level really high. Low and behold, I burned 100+ more calories in the same time that I normally burn while jogging. My point is this, it's about what you can safely do at this point in your training. When I first started running, it was really really hard. I'd thought I would die after a minute. Even today, it takes a little effort and focus to get over the "hump." It may feel hard, but if you keep at it, you'll get there. Just pick a reasonable goal and go for it. If you can't do 3 miles, then start with 1 or 1 1/2. If it takes you twice as long to get there, so be it so long as you try to get there. And as it gets easier, and believe me, it WILL get easier slowly add difficulty either with speed or with level (incline). But I would like you to think about how you run if you're a beginner. Think about how you land and your joints. There are many wonderful sites on running. I tend to think of running as cardio work. It's about your heart rate and if you can walk faster than you can jog right now, I'm wondering if walking would be the more effective workout (for now). You may want to test it out by wearing a heart monitor to find out where you're burning more calories. Whatever you decide is best for you (where you can most safely last the longest and burn the most) just make sure to focus and stick to it! Before you know it, by next year, 5k will be nothing to you.