What do you think about......

rbfdac
rbfdac Posts: 1,057 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
...while running? I

I am very new to running and still actually can only run/jog for 8-10 minutes at a time, but because it's not easy for me yet, I find myself spending most of my time concentrating on running-- my feet hitting, the burning in my legs, my breathing, my lungs, and how many minutes I've been running. This results in feeling like I've been running for 20 minutes, but it's only been two. I do have music and try to keep with the beat and immerse myself in the music, but I always come back to thinking about my physical body. I tried to distract myself two days ago by thinking about my new bathing suit and how I would look in it (I was reaching!) but that only occupied about 25 seconds.

Additionally, some people say "get outside!"-- that also does not help-- still concentrating on my body just as much out there!

Thoughts? Opinions? Am I just doomed to concentrate on every single step of my jog?

Replies

  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    Since you are new to running focusing on your form is important right now. Give it some time. It will become automatic after a while and then you can meditate, listen to music or podcasts, or just let your mind wander.

    If after a while you are still dreading every minute then maybe running isn't for you. I'm not a runner, personally. I used to be an avid speed walker but only do that occasionally now because I get bored with cardio. There are lots of different activities out there so be adventurous and try something new if need be.
  • fitdaisygrrl
    fitdaisygrrl Posts: 139 Member
    http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinchack/thoughts-every-jogger-has-while-out-for-a-running?utm_term=.pgXoarn5bG
  • rbfdac
    rbfdac Posts: 1,057 Member
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    Since you are new to running focusing on your form is important right now. Give it some time. It will become automatic after a while and then you can meditate, listen to music or podcasts, or just let your mind wander.

    If after a while you are still dreading every minute then maybe running isn't for you. I'm not a runner, personally. I used to be an avid speed walker but only do that occasionally now because I get bored with cardio. There are lots of different activities out there so be adventurous and try something new if need be.

    Thank you! I definitely do not dread every minute of it- I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and although difficult for me right now, I still have said to myself several times "I can see what the hype is about". But as I start to tire, my mind only wants to concentrate on the discomfort that my body is having. I'm never considering myself a runner, either, but sure do want to be one!
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
    winning
  • rbfdac
    rbfdac Posts: 1,057 Member
    fitdaisygrrl wrote: »
    http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinchack/thoughts-every-jogger-has-while-out-for-a-running?utm_term=.pgXoarn5bG

    That was great! I definitely identify with all of the ones where you feel like you've been running forever and it's been 20 seconds. haha
  • tahxirez
    tahxirez Posts: 270 Member
    Form, Form, Form! Instead of thinking about the pain make corrections to your form as you run. Are you experiencing labored breathing? Focus on straightening your spine and dropping your shoulders... Feeling excessively tired? Watch for wasting energy postures (scrunched shoulders, tensed muscles, squinting) and try to swing your arms forward and back instead of across your body (when you swing across your hips follow and your stride suffers.) With all that going through your mind you won't have time to think about how tired you are. Also, audio books have transformed my runs. Music made my pacing go crazy and I'd run really fast to the beat of a fast song only to find myself tiring out prematurely. Audio books allow me to pace myself. If you get tired early that is a sign you might be pushing too hard. It is okay to slow your pace a little or even walk for a few seconds. Personally (and I know you've heard this) running outside is much better, when I get tired I think of all the people driving by that can see me, maybe someone I know (I'm very competitive and don't like to show weakness so this is a huge motivator for me.)
  • rbfdac
    rbfdac Posts: 1,057 Member
    tahxirez wrote: »
    Form, Form, Form! Instead of thinking about the pain make corrections to your form as you run. Are you experiencing labored breathing? Focus on straightening your spine and dropping your shoulders... Feeling excessively tired? Watch for wasting energy postures (scrunched shoulders, tensed muscles, squinting) and try to swing your arms forward and back instead of across your body (when you swing across your hips follow and your stride suffers.) With all that going through your mind you won't have time to think about how tired you are. Also, audio books have transformed my runs. Music made my pacing go crazy and I'd run really fast to the beat of a fast song only to find myself tiring out prematurely. Audio books allow me to pace myself. If you get tired early that is a sign you might be pushing too hard. It is okay to slow your pace a little or even walk for a few seconds. Personally (and I know you've heard this) running outside is much better, when I get tired I think of all the people driving by that can see me, maybe someone I know (I'm very competitive and don't like to show weakness so this is a huge motivator for me.)

    @tahxirez

    I'm sure my form still needs massive work, but I don't experience any pain while running and not even a whole lot of discomfort. It's just not comfortable- if that makes any sense? I do not have any labored breathing and when I stop, I'm not even really that tired-- I actually can't really pinpoint what makes me stop after 8-10 minutes- I'm still breathing fine and my legs burn slightly, but nothing insane. I think I just start getting more uncomfortable so I decide that I surely must need to stop. I'm intending to run tonight so I'll try to concentrate on my form.

    I have found this app that plays music at a certain BPM so that helps with not trying to run with the beat of random songs because I had a really hard time with that. My legs would flail on those fast songs.

    I also know exactly what you mean- I'm not highly competitive, but even at the gym on the treadmill it's motivating when people can see me.. makes me want to keep going when I want to stop. Thank you for your response!
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
    1) Once your stamina increases and it's not so hard, it will be a lot easier to think about other things.

    2) I find that the more I concentrate on a certain aspect of my form (i.e. timing breathing with strides, controlling this weird kick thing I tend to do with my semi-injured right leg), time passes faster. It's almost meditative, really pulling inside myself and focusing on correcting this one little thing.

    3) A marathoner gave me a tip that when you start to feel tired, pretend like you're pulling yourself along a rope. You'll flail your arms less, stabilize your body, and give yourself a mental image to focus on.

    4) Running outside DOES make a world of difference for me mentally. When I'm on the treadmill, there's a countdown timer throwing it in my face that I've still got SO MUCH TIME left. The scenery doesn't change, so my mind can't go off on tangents about the things I'm seeing. And, most importantly, my pace can't vary naturally. Running is much less hard when you can slow down and speed up based on your energy levels and recovery time. The treadmill keeps you going at a constant pace, so unless you're riding the speed control all the time, you might be wearing yourself out too soon. It's hard to think about anything other than how tired you are when you're expending yourself too quickly.

    5) Pick the right music. It should have a beat that matches your pace and energizes you. The wrong music can contribute to you burning out faster because you overrun yourself, or if it's too slow, it will contribute to the time-dragging element.
  • JeepHair77
    JeepHair77 Posts: 1,291 Member
    rbfdac wrote: »
    fitdaisygrrl wrote: »
    http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinchack/thoughts-every-jogger-has-while-out-for-a-running?utm_term=.pgXoarn5bG

    That was great! I definitely identify with all of the ones where you feel like you've been running forever and it's been 20 seconds. haha

    OMG, this made me laugh so hard. That is my brain, right there. Especially the part where she gets mad at the people who are horrible at walking. My biggest pet peeve is people who walk slow, on the left, and weave back and forth for no reason. Walking isn't that hard, people.

    Honestly, I think about a million things, a lot of the same things I think about when I'm not running. During my last run, I was thinking about work. Lame, I know.

    Or like, there are these two bikers that I seem to see EVERY single Tuesday, and they are jerks, and I always spend the last half of that run thinking about how jerky those guys are.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    fitdaisygrrl wrote: »
    http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinchack/thoughts-every-jogger-has-while-out-for-a-running?utm_term=.pgXoarn5bG

    This is hilarious!
  • rbfdac
    rbfdac Posts: 1,057 Member
    mskessler89 wrote: »
    1) Once your stamina increases and it's not so hard, it will be a lot easier to think about other things.

    2) I find that the more I concentrate on a certain aspect of my form (i.e. timing breathing with strides, controlling this weird kick thing I tend to do with my semi-injured right leg), time passes faster. It's almost meditative, really pulling inside myself and focusing on correcting this one little thing.

    3) A marathoner gave me a tip that when you start to feel tired, pretend like you're pulling yourself along a rope. You'll flail your arms less, stabilize your body, and give yourself a mental image to focus on.

    4) Running outside DOES make a world of difference for me mentally. When I'm on the treadmill, there's a countdown timer throwing it in my face that I've still got SO MUCH TIME left. The scenery doesn't change, so my mind can't go off on tangents about the things I'm seeing. And, most importantly, my pace can't vary naturally. Running is much less hard when you can slow down and speed up based on your energy levels and recovery time. The treadmill keeps you going at a constant pace, so unless you're riding the speed control all the time, you might be wearing yourself out too soon. It's hard to think about anything other than how tired you are when you're expending yourself too quickly.

    5) Pick the right music. It should have a beat that matches your pace and energizes you. The wrong music can contribute to you burning out faster because you overrun yourself, or if it's too slow, it will contribute to the time-dragging element.

    Thank you so much for this. I'm really going to try some of these tips tonight. Greatly, greatly appreciated.
  • ViciC
    ViciC Posts: 1 Member
    rbfdac wrote: »
    I have found this app that plays music at a certain BPM so that helps with not trying to run with the beat of random songs because I had a really hard time with that. My legs would flail on those fast songs.

    Would you mind sharing which app that is please? I'm looking for something like this myself. Does it automatically change the song depending on if you change your speed? like not if you're in the middle of the song but when it gets to the end of the song and if you've sped up during the previous track would it then choose a different track based on the BPM, or is it all manually done?
  • RosieRose7673
    RosieRose7673 Posts: 438 Member
    If I'm trying to add a few minutes into my run and feel like stopping... I imagine Shia Labeouf doing his motivational speech- "just do it! What are you waiting for?! JUST DO IT!"

    No joke. Makes me smile and I do that extra few minutes.
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    I haven't had much luck with those apps that claim to play music at specific BPM, but I have created my own playlist based on my cadence of 170 BPM. I use an MP3 editor to change the tempo of whatever song I want to run to, then save it in a specific folder, so I don't mix it back into my unedited music.

    Sometimes a particular song won't work well, even after editing, because of tempo changes in the song, or because it sounds so goofy at that tempo that I can't stop giggling (and it's really hard to run if I'm laughing too hard to breathe).

    It's much easier to fix my music than to find enough music to fill a playlist that naturally falls into such a narrow range of tempo.
  • gradchica27
    gradchica27 Posts: 777 Member
    Music doesn't do it for me so I listen to suspenseful audiobooks. Makes me want to keep going!

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