Advise from runners

Hi

If you are sedentary start off by building up your base fitness with Slow to moderate paced walking, then build up to walking intervals, where you walk slowly for 45 secs, then brisk walking for 15 secs and so on. As you get fitter you will spend more time brisk walking than you will moderate paced walking.

When you can brisk walk for a good period of time and you are stronger your joints can handle it and have some cardio base fitness behind you then introduce slow jogging, walk slowly for say a minute, slow jog for 10 seconds and so on and when you get fitter and less overweight you will be able to spend more and more time jogging in your session rather than walking.

When I weighed 91 kg (190 lbs) 4 years ago all I could do was walk so I'd walk for hours at a time and as I got fitter I introduced jogging.

Fast forward 4 years and I'm sprinting 20 seconds, jogging 30 sec recovery, for total of 8 minutes. 45 sec sprint with a 1 minute jog recovery for 12 mins. That was today's effort.

Just remember Baby steps to begin with. You just gotta take it slowly ease into it to prevent injuries. Good luck and have fun!

I highly, highly recommend Couch to 5K. There is a huge contingent of posters here who have completed it successfully (myself included). When I started, 30 seconds of continuous running left me gasping for breath. Today I ran 5 miles without walking. You can do it! The program progresses slowly enough to give you a solid running base without undue risk of injury or burnout.

Ditto the C25K. LOVED it. I started running last year with C25K, and am currently getting ready for a half-marathon in March. I think @loratliff is too.

My biggest piece of advice - when you DO start running, run SLOW! Think your running slow enough? Slow down anyway. Most people who try to start running and decide it's too hard and quit are quitting because they started running too fast. I STILL run slow. My 5-miler today took me nearly an hour - that's almost 12 minutes per mile. And when I started running, I was even slower.

Good luck!

When I wanted to become a runner the first thing I did is went to the store and bought The Beginners Guide to Running magazine and read the whole thing. The magazine went over things like diet, proper running shoes, how to get a good cadence, proper running form, breathing and a beginners running schedule. It goes over ever thing you need to know to prevent injury too. That's how I learned and I run every day now and love it. Good luck!

Note - I recommend that anyone starting an exercise program consult with their doctor first. Before I started the course of action below, I had a full physical and cardiac stress test by my doctor.

I ran when I was much younger, then got terribly out of shape and overweight. When I started working out again, in February 2013, I weighed 250 lbs, down from my high of 273. At first, I could not run because my legs and cardiovascular system just couldn't handle the weight. Therefore, I just did what I could - I walked on the treadmill, and used the stair climber, with lots of breaks.

By April 2013, I could run/walk, with most of it walking. My weight was down to 240 lbs. By December 2013, I finally ran a WHOLE mile without stopping. It had taken me 10 months of walking and stair climbing to be able to even run a mile without stopping. I never would have believed it would take this long, but it did, and I just had to stick with it. At this point, my weight was down to 205 lbs.

In February 2014, something amazing happened - I was suddenly able to run 4 miles in 40 minutes, which is at a 10 minute-per-mile pace, my personal standard for what I consider "running." I guess my weight (now 195 lbs) and my cardiovascular condition had finally reached the point where I could just run. From February 2014 until October 2014, I steadily increased my mileage and speed, and added biking and swimming to my routine.

On April 12, 2014, I ran a half marathon (13.1 miles), and then went on to run two more half marathons on May 18th, and June 7th. I followed this up with sprint triathlons on August 10 and September 27th. Finally, on October 26, 2014, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon (26.2 miles) in 4 hours 32 minutes. I am currently running about 25 miles per week, and planning to run more marathons in the spring of 2015. My weight is 170 lbs, and I hope to finish my weight loss at 150 lbs.

To break down this story into a timeline demonstrates how hard it can be at the beginning to stay the course, but how much it will pay off if you do.

From running 0 miles to running 1 mile without stopping = 10 months.
From running 1 mile to running 4 miles without stopping = 2 months.
From running 4 miles to running 13.1 miles without stopping = 2 months.
From running 13.1 miles to running 26.2 miles without stopping = 6 months.

Put another way, it took 10 months to go from not running at all to running 1 mile without stopping. It took another 10 months to train up and run 26.2 miles in a marathon.

The hardest part is the beginning. Start small, and do what you can. Walk. Run 0.1 miles at a time if that is all you can do. Use a stair climber, an elliptical, or whatever is available. Get your heart rate up, and keep it up. It may take months and months, but eventually you will have a breakthrough and be able to run!

wtgrey wrote: »

To break down this story into a timeline demonstrates how hard it can be at the beginning to stay the course, but how much it will pay off if you do.

From running 0 miles to running 1 mile without stopping = 10 months.
From running 1 mile to running 4 miles without stopping = 2 months.
From running 4 miles to running 13.1 miles without stopping = 2 months.
From running 13.1 miles to running 26.2 miles without stopping = 6 months.

Put another way, it took 10 months to go from not running at all to running 1 mile without stopping. It took another 10 months to train up and run 26.2 miles in a marathon.

The hardest part is the beginning. Start small, and do what you can. Walk. Run 0.1 miles at a time if that is all you can do. Use a stair climber, an elliptical, or whatever is available. Get your heart rate up, and keep it up. It may take months and months, but eventually you will have a breakthrough and be able to run!

This timeline is very useful to keep in mind. I think a lot of people get frustrated not understanding that they can't force it in a few weeks - even the first mile - and give up too early.

If you are into gadgets then a Polar heart rate monitor can really help you progress at the right rate for your body. This is because you'll be walking / jogging at the right pace for you at that moment (vs. a generic guideline.) This is optional of course. For me it kept telling me that I was pushing myself too hard which seemed ludicrous to me (duh!). I finally started following Polar's suggestion and I really improved and it felt much easier on my body too.

You know what? JUST DO IT. That is my 100% biggest advice. I've been a runner off an on for about 15 years now, but I took over a year off and gained over 30 pounds! This year I just started back up by running 2 miles. It really sucked... and some of that 2 miles was spent walking. But I kept back at it and I'm running my 5th half marathon in 3 weeks now. I also went from running 10 minute + miles to regularly running under a 9-minute mile (and even some 8 minute miles!).

I have said it before and I'll say it again - most of running starts in the mind. You tell yourself a runner and fill your mind with positive thoughts, you'll do it. Tell yourself "this is hard" and "I can't do it," and you'll never make it. It sounds like you want to do it - so now you must convince yourself you can. I don't care if you're 200 lbs; does NOT matter. I promise. Now, I can't wait to read your success story once you've determined YOU ARE a runner!

i highly recommend putting in your ear buds, firing up some music, and going out for a run.

i never really got into couch to 5k. don't like being told what to do. just run until you can't run any longer... stop to walk for a bit, and then run home.

i know you probably have an idea the runners look like majestic gazelles running across their urban backdrops, but honestly, most runners are out there just shuffling their feet for a few miles. at the moment, i'm learning how to slow down, because i was running with my heartrate too high.

I was not at all feeling it today and this thread made me get my rear outside and run. I suggest building a good walking base first. Also, C25K works for many and I've seen several different types of people run. I'm far from skinny and can do it...not for long but getting there. Running is mostly a mind thing. Put your mind to it, start with a good walking base if you don't have that already and go slowly. Start for a minute, heck start for 30 seconds if a minute is too hard and build from there. Best wishes to you!