Running, Running & Running...I suck but I am Running, or so

Could be that you pushed yourself so hard to get to 6 mins that your body is rebelling and needs a rest. That's OK and totally natural!

If you are running on consecutive days that could be an issue, as your body might not be getting the rest it needs to recover for another run. Possibly running everyother day could help. Good luck, and keep up the good work!!:happy:

Some days are just harder than others! I went through C25k and now run 3 miles or more 3 times a week. Some days it feels great, other days it kicks my a**. So many factors can affect it (food, hydration, sleep, form, breathing). You'll get there again and you will do better - just keep pushing yourself - but don't push so hard that you dread doing it!! If I have a really hard day where I am really pushing myself on pace or something, sometimes the next run I ease up a little so its more fun, so I continue to look forward to my workouts rather than dreading them!

I've been running for 3 months and I still run at 5.5 mph max. BUT, I can run for 20 minutes instead of just.... 4 or 5 now! I used to do a lot of interval running like this:
0-3 = 3mph
3-5 = 3.5 mph
5-6 = 6
6-8 = 5
8-9 = 6.5
9-10 = 5.5
10-12 = 3
etc...etc....

Some days you just don't have a good run day. I even asked the "good" runners at my gym and at work and they all said the same thing, some days you just don't get in the zone. Even the most seasoned runners have bad runs. I had an amazing run last week and then last night, lousy.........I had to keep stopping and walking. Don't worry too much about a bad day, just keep forging ahead

You might want to try modified intervals. After warming up, run briskly (briskly, not flat out) for one minute. Then walk for one minute, or until your heart rate comes down if you have a heart rate monitor. Alternate brisk running and walking until you've reached six minutes. Do it for a week or two. Then try increasing the intervals. Run briskly for 75 seconds, or 90 seconds, followed by walking. Gradually increase the running and decrease the walking.

An interval timer such as a Gymboss is helpful. www.gymboss.com

So back in January when I started this lifestyle change, my friend said "you really should work on running on the treadmill" I quickly replied "I don't run, it hurts my knees. Never been a runner ever" She just grinned and said practice makes perfect as she increased the speed on my treadmill from a nice walk to a brisk walk. I felt like I was going to die but in my head knew she was right. So I went from my comfortable 3.0 to 4.0. She didn't push the running so much since I said it hurt my knees she didn't want me to hurt myself ( it really did hurt my knees) She encouraged me to get better running shoes and one say I said I think I am going to try this running thing. She was impressed. So my warm out started 1 min of my friend 3.0, 1 min of my new friend 4.0 and then 1.0 of my new best friend 5.0 and I would decrease the speed and do this pattern all over again several times. I am comfortable with this. It increases my hear rate, I am sweating, I am huffing and puffing. Then Sunday I decided just try and see how long I could do. OK hope on stretch warm up at 3.5 for 3 minutes and straight to 5.0 I go. I ran for 6 minutes straight. I was amazed. I am sure some of you are laughing at my ha 6 minutes I can run for 600 minutes. But you have to understand, I NEVER EVER EVER RUN, not in school not ever. So I wiped the sweat off and patted myself on the back. Monday I went back to the gym and said I am going for 7 minutes today....What is this 3 minutes and I am dying WTH?!? I pushed and pushed but made it to 4 minutes before I felt like I was going to fall off. I was very disappointed in myself. Last night I got out of my 2nd job a little early so I decided to get a quick burn in, Again STRUGGLED but made it to 5 minutes. Then for the next 25 minutes went back and forth with 3.5 and 5.0. I don't understand on how one say I made it to 6 minutes straight and now it seems impossible to get there again. I feel as though I am becoming very obsessed with being able to meet this goal and not that it is bad goal but each time I don't reach it I am so disappointed in myself. Any New runners out there that can help me, advice you can offer? Suggestions.? OH btw the way my friend said she can't wait til we work out together she is going to get me to 6.0, I am not going to lie I cried a little haha.

I just went through the same thing you did, here's what I learned:

1) Fleet Feet has shoes that fit me! (I'm hard to find shoes for, even for every day shoes. I dread shoe shopping and put it off for weeks until I wear through a heel, so you understand my elation when I walked in and walked out with a good pair of shoes in under an hour.) They measured my feet, handed me a pair of men's running shoes (which I would've never thought to try on) but because of the shape of my foot, they fit exactly. That helped a lot. I never felt comfortable running because women's shoes never fit me quite right.

2) Running at 4.0+ mph can be easier than walking at 2.0+ mph sometimes. I'm doing grad school physiology right now so we talk about the physical forces and mechanics of our joints sometimes and because walking slower takes more time, we put more stress on our lower limbs in a fixed time frame. What does that mean?

Well - which is harder? A full, slow pushup, or a quick up and then drop?

So when you're running faster, you're actually making it easier on yourself. My doctor also told me that running at 3.5+mph at an 8 degree incline will start fat burning after 15 mins of warm up at that speed. In other words, anything less isn't really burning fat, it's helping you build leg strength and muscle but not doing what you think.

Also, keep in mind your target heart rate, don't ever go too far above it, you might hurt yourself. I do the whole adjusting speed thing while keeping at the same incline - I don't let the treadmill do it for me - so I can control just how fast I want to run and for how long. I increase my max speed running increments by 15 seconds each time with a little rest period at around 1.0-2.5 mph in between so my body can recover without me having to stop. By the end I can jog about 5-6 minutes at a time for 4.0 mph.

3) I noticed that when I run, I tend to suck in my stomach so I don't feel it jiggle around while I jog and I can twist my legs forward better - but I have no really reason for it considering the whole scheme of things. Your lung capacity is determined by your torso volume and the amount of air you inhale is determined by how much negative pressure your diaphragm can create for you. What does that mean?

If you allow your stomach to protrude forward slightly, it allows your diaphragm muscle to push lower into your abdomen, giving you a larger lung capacity and and better gas exchange which in the end, lets you get sore slower.

4) Also, never listen to or watch about food while running. Here's an excerpt form my journal to explain just exactly why:

My biggest mistake today: listening to an audio book while running... with the announcer type voiced actor describing a medieval feast with juicy dripping steak, fragrant mushrooms, steaming bread and a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables laden-ed the table. I cried. Literally. I cried on the treadmill. I cried and then I laughed and I cried some more. Tears came out of my eyes and mixed with my sweat making me unsure which is saltier, the taste of my tears, my sweat, or the imaginary juicy chicken drumstick I was mentally chewing at the feast...

So, those are my lessons learned.

ALSO: I've found that a heart rate monitor is extremely useful. You position yourself with the best ability to improve by training in the 65% to 85% of your maximum heart rate for your current condition. As you repeat your current training plan, you will find that your average and maximum heart rate will start to decrease. When you find that the training that was requiring 80 to 85% of your maximum heart rate, drops to 70 to 75%, it's time to step up the plan for the next training session. After a while, this approach removes a lot of the shock, that changing the plan too early will cause.

I agree with this. I've watched my heart rate go down over the course of my "same" workout. Though for me, I up my speed and move on when I can do it at the speed I want. For me, that's only 5 mph. I'm currently repeating week 4 of C25K so I can do it at 5.

I watch my HR constantly since it displays nicely on my treadmill. My max appears to be around 192 bpm. I pretty much lose steam if I get over 186 or so. When I'm running and feel tired, and look at my HR and it's only in the 170s or low 180s, I know I'm being lazy LOL.