Out of breath and running

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mbriscoe79
mbriscoe79 Posts: 50 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I would love to be a runner but everytime I run I get so out of breath and cant go the distance LOL

I dont think I have asthma, Im not very overweight but obviously unfit.

Is it possible to get past the out of breath stage and be able to run longer than 5 mins, or is running just not for someone people
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Replies

  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Two suggestions:
    - find yourself a program that lets you gradually build up your running time (like C25K, but there are others)
    - run slowly. Slower than you think you need to. This lets you do the distance, speed comes later.

    Oh, and get good shoes. Enjoy!
  • lupa01
    lupa01 Posts: 162 Member
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    Try alternating between walking and running, and inhale through your nose and exhale out of your mouth. And pace yourself.lol I'm not a runner either but I have been trying for the last month and my breathing and endurance have gotten better. I hope this helps.:bigsmile:
  • kp1439
    kp1439 Posts: 343 Member
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    I had the same issue ... i used to smoke and i quit this year ... for first few times it was hard for me to walk on elliptical for 5 mins ...and now i can go 30 mins .. it takes time ... but if u stay with it you will be fine ...
  • mbriscoe79
    mbriscoe79 Posts: 50 Member
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    MY computer wont let me look at C25K page as it blocks it but I found the cool runnings program.

    I think I will give it a go, take it slowly and breathe.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Here is a nice walk / jog program to get you up to 20 min.
    You don't have to change after one week, in case you don't want to run this much, or it would be too much pounding for the joints right now, and you do other workouts.

    http://www.exrx.net/Aerobic/JogWalkProgram.html

    Run Continuously for 20 Minutes (3-4 days per week)

    Week Run Walk Repeat
    1 30 sec. 90 sec. 10
    2 60 sec. 60 sec. 10
    3 90 sec. 90 sec. 7
    4 2 1 7
    5 3 1 5
    6 4 1 4
    7 6 1 3
    8 9 1 2
    9 10 1 2
    10 12 1 2
    11 20 0 1

    And why am I sure that chart will not show up formatted correctly.
  • Hurricane_C
    Hurricane_C Posts: 806 Member
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    Two suggestions:
    - find yourself a program that lets you gradually build up your running time (like C25K, but there are others)
    - run slowly. Slower than you think you need to. This lets you do the distance, speed comes later.

    I'm currently on week 4 of the C25K... I've taken some breaks and repeated some days. When I run I'm running at about 5.0mph or so... is it cheating if I run slower than that to run longer? I want to die after the 5 minute run. But I want to be able to run a 10K in Sept.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I'm currently on week 4 of the C25K... I've taken some breaks and repeated some days. When I run I'm running at about 5.0mph or so... is it cheating if I run slower than that to run longer? I want to die after the 5 minute run. But I want to be able to run a 10K in Sept.

    Not cheating at all, unless you are on some program to win your age group!

    You might benefit from the walk / jog program too. Since you run just for a little bit at first, you can run faster knowing there is a recovery walk. You probably will avg faster than 5mph.

    Plus your system gets used to running, and it's like lowered intervals. Just keep the walk speed as fast as possible.
  • inge88
    inge88 Posts: 184 Member
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    What really helped me in the beginning is to run without any music and syncronise my breathing with my steps. 3 steps inhaling, 3 steps outhaling. Or 2 steps if you really need to. This make your breath regular. It still really helps me when I tend to get too tired.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
    Options
    Two suggestions:
    - find yourself a program that lets you gradually build up your running time (like C25K, but there are others)
    - run slowly. Slower than you think you need to. This lets you do the distance, speed comes later.

    I'm currently on week 4 of the C25K... I've taken some breaks and repeated some days. When I run I'm running at about 5.0mph or so... is it cheating if I run slower than that to run longer? I want to die after the 5 minute run. But I want to be able to run a 10K in Sept.

    Nope, not cheating! Run at whatever pace lets you get through the distance. I started C25K in January last year and ran really really slowly, but worked my way up through the distance first and then started working on pace. I ran 12k in August - it wasn't fast but I ran nearly all of it and was so proud of myself (especially when I was still running up hills at the 9k mark past some of the young guys who sprinted past me at the start!)
    I repeated days and weeks of C25K too - sometimes it just seemed to big of a leap to go to the next week or I had work committments that make me take a few days break. Sticking with it, even at my slow speed definitely paid off.
    And slowing down lets you get more miles in your legs with less chance of injury too.
  • saritabandita
    saritabandita Posts: 67 Member
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    Go slow. If you keep it up, it WILL get better. You will be amazed at what you can do!
  • tinkerpuppet
    tinkerpuppet Posts: 40 Member
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    I did a "learn to run" clinic last spring and it was fantastic. If you can, see if you can find a local one, huge support system and there really is a lot to learn! Some things I learned are "slow down!". Many people think they need to just start running and go until you can't. Start with walk/run. If you can't carry on a conversation, you're going to hard. Also, many people breathe fast and shallow. I found concentrating on taking longer, deeper breaths really helped. I have asthma, and needed to use my inhaler a few times in the beginning. But once I figured out how to control my breathing, I never had to use it running again.

    Good luck!
  • chelso0o
    chelso0o Posts: 366 Member
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    Something that will help you with running is cycling. It works up your cardiovascular endurance. PARTICULARLY riding up hills.

    Another thing you can do, if you run or walk on a treadmill, is to ramp up the incline. You can still walk, but you are getting just as much cardiovascular benefits as you would from running.

    HILLS BRING SPEED! :):)
  • abigailm83
    abigailm83 Posts: 110
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    Here is a nice walk / jog program to get you up to 20 min.
    You don't have to change after one week, in case you don't want to run this much, or it would be too much pounding for the joints right now, and you do other workouts.

    http://www.exrx.net/Aerobic/JogWalkProgram.html

    Run Continuously for 20 Minutes (3-4 days per week)

    Week Run Walk Repeat
    1 30 sec. 90 sec. 10
    2 60 sec. 60 sec. 10
    3 90 sec. 90 sec. 7
    4 2 1 7
    5 3 1 5
    6 4 1 4
    7 6 1 3
    8 9 1 2
    9 10 1 2
    10 12 1 2
    11 20 0 1

    And why am I sure that chart will not show up formatted correctly.

    I'm so adding this to my work out. When I started working out again a month ago I said I wanted to get to a point where I liked to run. I know it's going to be tough but it looks doable and I'm up for a challange. :smile:
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I find that counting my breaths helps too, it keeps my in rhythm, especially when I'm going up hills or getting tired.
    And finding some music at the right tempo is a great way to keep a steady pace too - just don't make it too fast!
  • abigailm83
    abigailm83 Posts: 110
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    How fast is to fast?? I know it's different for everyone but when I run I set the treadmill at like 6.2 mph. I guess this might be why I burn out after a minute or so lol
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Too fast is when you burn out after a minute!
    Slow down to 5 and see how long you can go :)
  • AussieMisfit
    AussieMisfit Posts: 78 Member
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    I'm on week 4 of C25K and loving it. My heart rate at the end of my 2nd 5 minute run last night was lower than at the end of 1 minute a few weeks ago.
  • melrose09
    melrose09 Posts: 271
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    Something that will help you with running is cycling. It works up your cardiovascular endurance. PARTICULARLY riding up hills.


    This vid totally backs you up!

    http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2010/06/26/10-minutes-of-exercise-yields-hourlong-effects.aspx

    I'm not a "runner" but I want to be. Have the same issues, but I'm in pretty good shape physically, but still get out of breathe sooner than I think I should. I tried this for the first time on Tuesday and after a little under 20 minutes I almost keeled over, but it was awesome! I'm going to do this in place of one of my runs each week and hopefully I'll see improvement!

    To the OP, you should do this with me!! If that old guy can do it, so can we! ;) j/k...I know some "old" people that can out perform me all day!
  • SammyPacks
    SammyPacks Posts: 697 Member
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    C25K helped me with that issue (couldn't run 3 minutes straight...) but now I'm running an average of 20-40 minutes straight :)
  • ashleylucas21wechanged
    ashleylucas21wechanged Posts: 42
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    I would love to be a runner but everytime I run I get so out of breath and cant go the distance LOL

    I dont think I have asthma, Im not very overweight but obviously unfit.

    Is it possible to get past the out of breath stage and be able to run longer than 5 mins, or is running just not for someone people


    Was EXACTLY like this. I would strictly avoid it because I thought it wasn't for me. Still, wanting to burn calories I always found myself walking on a treadmill incline (which wasn't so bad). Now I run and love it. Can run 6-6.5 steadily. Increased to 7-7.5 for a couple minutes and back down. Gradually challenging myself. Still need to improve but I'll get there. You will too!

    Also, running outside requires more training, breathing. I run inside, as memory serves running outside was why I hated it so much but I'd like to take it back out as I'd like to train for my first 5k spartan race.

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