Question for runners....

I look at the path ahead and in the distance. To run longer, run slower. You'll get better. Plus the very first part of any run feels hard until you get warmed up and in your stride.

And, to answer some of your other questions ... if I'm running a familiar road, then I look ahead (my preferred method of running). If I'm doing a trail run, I look down so as to not trip - but sometimes I still do. Endurance is earned ... one day at a time. Don't rush. You'll get there.

I am also starting the couch to 5 K. I have done this before and what I did was sign up for a 5 k it helped keep me motivated and get me going. I also made a bunch of running play lists to keep me energized.

I listen to music when I run. Usually upbeat music and/or fast music. I choose this kind of music rather than slower music because then I "run" to the beat so I am always pushing myself to go faster.

I have felt many a time that I am just going to DIE right there on the trail.... so I just slow down my speed, take deeper breaths, but always always always KEEP GOING!!! I feel such an accomplishment when I get to the walking portion of the intervals that I didn't stop running.

It is always better to slow down your pace rather than stop running...this is how you are going to build your endurance and stamina up. Another piece of advice, which I am currently doing, is to repeat the previous week as many times as you need to before moving onto the following week. I am on week 3 for the second week in a row because I cannot quite feel good about my 3 minute continuous run. You just have to keep pushing yourself and don't give up. You CAN do it!! I know you can!

I'm going to tell you now, the weeks do get harder as you progress but just don't get down about your slower days and always remind yourself how awesome you are doing for just getting out there in the first place your one step ahead of those sitting on the couch

If you need any further motivation or support on the c25k feel free to private message me

I'm doing Couch to 5K as well!!! I listen to the podcasts, haha I'm such a dork, I've actually really been enjoying the corresponding music.

But I agree, thinking of my day, work I have to do for the week, staying organized.

If I'm running outside and a hottie passes me the corresponding thought is, "30 more pounds and he'll be checking ME out!!!!"

Good luck, lady!

It gets better! I started C25K last year around this time and thought I was going to die during those 60 second runs, this past Saturday I ran an 11 miler for the first time ever...so it does get better!
As for keeping your mind occupied, I do different things. Sometimes I listen to music, but not too often any more since I've started running more on the road. I think about my kids and how proud they are of their Dad, and that keeps me moving. And as a pastor I also use that time for prayer and sermon prep, and will usually recite Bible verses.
Sometimes I'll make games out of the run, like seeing how many steps it takes for me to get from point A to point B, try to guess how long a segment will take, etc. The big thing though is imagining how great I will feel when I hit my goal!
Keep it up!

I use my ipod and usually am listening to a book in the Outlander series!!

Ran my first 5K on Sunday! Do it!! Make that your goal! Find a fun one to do!!!!

I have a playlist on my ipod for working out... faster upbeat music!!!!

If i'm on a trail, I look down... on the streets, I'm looking up for the *kitten* who can't see me in my bright pink top, so I'm not road kill!

Just get out and do it!!! It feels great!!!!!

I have to say congrats on even thinking about being a runner. Some people have it in their minds that there is no way they will ever be a runner. I used to be one of those people. I started on this website in the beginning of this year. Never in my life had ever been a runner. We have a treadmill and I would do like a 20 minute walk run program on there and do that every day for a few weeks. Then I started to just jog a mile at like a 4.5mph. Each time I would just increase it by .5mph. Eventually I got up to 5.5 and 6mph. This was when it was cold outside. When it started to warm up, I wanted to get outside and try it. I thought I could definitely do it since I do it on the treadmill. When I started out I thought my lungs were going to collapse. As I found out, you have to gradually do it outside, just like on the treadmill. When you are outside the fresh air fills your lungs and it's not quite used to it yet. When you do it a couple of times it won't hurt so bad, but even now in the beginning, it does still hurt a little, but usually passes after a minute.

I can now say that I just finished a half-maraton last weekend and I did jog the whole thing, I did stop once for a potty break. It may not have been the best time, but I did jog the whole thing and only was 5 minutes slower than my goal. Had I not had to stop to potty, maybe I mght have reached that goal. I never thought I could jog 13 miles before, but I proved myself wrong. I'm not quite the runner some of these people are, but I do well for myself.

Keep your head up and don't give up. I agree with everyone who said to sign up for a 5k. I did that in the beginnng of the year and didn't think I could run the whole thing and to my surprise, I did. It feels so great to do something you never thought you could. Grab some music and just go. Don't think of anything at first. Look at the scenery around you, but also check the ground to be safe. Then think of things you need to do, sometimes that makes you want to finish quicker, knowing you have things to do.

Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like.

I have a playlist on my iPod just for running. It's fast, upbeat music that I like. Some of the songs are totally silly and are guilty pleasures. Like WHAM! and stuff like that. Nobody has to know but you.
I change up the playlists once in a while.

On longer runs I put my mind completely in daydream land, the time flys by, I run mostly on trails so i have no traffic or people to dodge.

The running part will get easier as you build endurance. I love running because I can be alone and think lol. I think about everything, my grocery list, my schedule for the week, upcoming races I have planned or would like to plan for. Running is just as much a mental feat as a physical one, especially long distances. You do have to train your mind to endure as well.

I was a runner in high school (30 years ago), and I'm just barely sorta getting around to thinking about starting again. I always hated running, except for the isolated "good moments." I swore to myself that I would never run again, and I've stuck by it all these years. It's very strange, but I get the impression that a whole lot of runners hate running !

Anyway, this time around I'm approaching it from a bizarre approach that I think of as "C25K, only backwards". The deal is that I started working my way out of couch potato-hood by walking. Just a little. Not enough to matter, or so I thought. But soon enough I could feel the improvement : firmer muscles, lower heart rate, and my body just felt good. And the great thing I like about walking is there's never a moment of thinking "I wish I didn't have to do this !" Whenever I think about walking, I immediately have a sense of enthusiasm, without the gargantuan struggles ("I REALLY don't wanna do this !") that I always had with running.

So the problem with walking is that I've gradually upped my pace, and at the fastest pace that I can walk (maybe 4 mph), I've gotten to where my heartrate is now pretty tame. Elevated some, and yes I'm burning calories, but my once-feeble aerobic capacity is now merely sub-par. I want to up the ante, but only a little.

So what I do is go for a walk, and once I'm all warmed up I'll break into a run. But only when it feels good and I really *want* to. I run until I can feel my heart beating faster and I return to a walk the instant anything feels at all unpleasant. During the intervals while I'm running, I think a lot about my form (my running form, not my body form !). And when I return to a walking, I spend a little time going through my body seeing how everything feels. Good form is super-important to avoid injuries and also to run efficiently. The problem is that nobody wants to think about form when they are on the verge of death, so a whole lot of runners have really terrible form.

Anyway, the "backwards" part of my approach is that I'm introducing the running intervals only to "improve" my walking experience. I'm _already_ doing a 5k every week with the local (pub-sponsored !) running club, it's just that until very recently I have been walking the entire way.

So I know that all this is very, very unlike the approach most people take to exercise. But I think a lot of us MFP people are not cut from the same cloth as the hard-core, "No Pain, No Gain" athletes. My personal approach is "No Pain, Period !" I'm sure I'm progressing at a slower rate than most others, but the most important part for me is that I *am* progressing, and I'm enjoying every bit of it.