Running for the first time in 6 years

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Kelce4Fit
Kelce4Fit Posts: 21 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am at the end of week 3 of running. The last time I ran was in high school for my schools track team. I was a sprinter not a long distance runner. I don't know anything about long distance. My mile PR is 8:15 and I have been able to run 2mi unbroken. I have trouble setting a good pace for myself. My legs only remember the 100m so I have to slow myself down so many times! How do I gain stamina? I am signed up for a 5k in August and I am hoping to be able to run the entire thing unbroken. It might not be possible but I want to get as close as I can! I only run during the mornings because of my schedule. What tips or advice does anyone have to help me improve my distance and endurance? I rest 2 days a week usually Monday and Friday.

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  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
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    Endurance is about building an aerobic base. Running longer and slower gets you there. You don't need to do speed work until you've built up a solid base.

    On pacing, try talking out loud to yourself, you should be able to hold something of a conversation. If you can't, you are running too fast. Shorter strides, faster turnover will help, and will encourage good form and with the lower pace, reduce chance of injury.

    Mike
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Even for people who run slow it can be hard to slow down enough for a proper long run pace.

    If you have a HRM and know your resting heart rate you can try to calculate your proper endurance heart rate and just make sure to keep your run slow enough to stay in that range.
    http://runnersconnect.net/training/tools/heart-rate-calculator/

    Otherwise, just go so slow you seriously wonder if you should count what you are doing as walking or jogging.

    Once you are able to run at that pace, just keep building more and more mileage to build up your aerobic system as mentioned above. Before you know it a 5k will be a breeze.
  • Kelce4Fit
    Kelce4Fit Posts: 21 Member
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    How long should I run long/slow? The longest I have done is 45mins and it was a run/walk alternating every few minutes. I've only done it once though.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    You might check out a Couch to 5k program and see where you might already be along that sort of program. Find run times/distances you are sure you can hit per that schedule, and build from there.
  • Kelce4Fit
    Kelce4Fit Posts: 21 Member
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    I have been doing the Hal Higdon 5k training program. The distance fluctuates and when it is a short distance like 1.5 I feel like I can barely do it even though I ran 2mi 2 days before. My pace must be wayyyy to fast. It's definitely going to have to take some work finding the right pace.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    edited July 2015
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    It is hard to get into the right pace. Even once you know that pace, you may still find yourself frequently going faster without realizing it. The subconscious mind just seems to want you to go faster.

    I personally found using heart rate as the best way to keep me there. The trick was knowing my heart rate all the time while I was running. At first I was using Strava on my phone synced to my HRM and would hold my phone in one hand while running and occasionally tap the screen with my thumb to keep the screen active. Then I would just frequently glance at my phone to see what my current HR was to help keep me honest. I figured there had to be a better way. Currently I run both Strava and Endomondo (both synced to my HRM) because I want the Strava data, but Endomondo has a feature to do audible updates every .05 miles, and I set mine to only announce my current HR. So every 88 yards I hear what my HR is and that is plenty frequent enough, plus I do not have to run with my phone in my hand. In noisy areas though I sometimes can not hear the alert.

    I've been doing that for maybe about 2 months now, and find I do not pay much attention to those alerts, yet keep myself in the proper zone. So you do adapt to that pace after a while. I still do this just because I suspect if I stopped outright that I might find myself going faster after a while.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I'm a turtle, going about 10 to 12 minutes per KM. In all the programs for development, I haven't seen runs much more than 45 minutes at a shot. It's slower and longer that will get you endurance.
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
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    I've found forcing myself to breathe in and out through my nose forces me to slow down. I can do that only at an easy pace, so I know I'm going slow enough when I'm comfortably breathing that way. It's the same as running at a conversational pace. Can you hold a conversation at the pace you're currently running? If not, slow down.
  • Kelce4Fit
    Kelce4Fit Posts: 21 Member
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    I could about 3/4 of the way I can talk then by the end I'm gasping for air. And that is running 2mi in 19min. When I reach my door step I'm done for! I live on hill so that last part of my run is brutal! My program has me doing 2mi tomorrow and then 40-60min walk on Sunday. I've got my HRM polar ft4 and I make sure my HR stays below 180 but above 127. My resting HR is usually around 88-94.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    I suspect when you let it get in the 160+ range you are going too hard. What did that training pace calculator give you for your age an resting heart rate for the various ranges? Try keeping your HR in that lowest range, and if it does go over don't let it get into the upper half of that next higher range. If you can do that going both uphill and downhill then you should not have that gasping issue any more.
  • gdyment
    gdyment Posts: 299 Member
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    kelceraye3 wrote: »
    I could about 3/4 of the way I can talk then by the end I'm gasping for air. And that is running 2mi in 19min. When I reach my door step I'm done for! I live on hill so that last part of my run is brutal! My program has me doing 2mi tomorrow and then 40-60min walk on Sunday. I've got my HRM polar ft4 and I make sure my HR stays below 180 but above 127. My resting HR is usually around 88-94.

    Try keeping it under 150 for the next run. You should not be breathing hard - you should be able to sing happy birthday without gasping or doing any weird pauses for breath. Take it as a mental challenge - under 150 but still run, no matter how slow.
  • Kelce4Fit
    Kelce4Fit Posts: 21 Member
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    Alright thanks for all of the help! I will use all of this for tomorrow's run!
  • jrline
    jrline Posts: 2,353 Member
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    Do a run walk pattern and get miles consistently. Getting in the miles is much more important than trying to set a new PR each time out running. Good Luck and have fun

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