I don’t know if this will make you feel better or worse. About 10 years ago, my exceptionally unathletic self read an article in a magazine about a woman who had done her first triathlon, and thought with incredible hubris “well, if she can do it, so can I.” So I signed up, despite not having swum in over 8 years, not owning a bicycle, and never having run more than a 5-minute stretch without walking.
While I was not quite dead last, I was really darned close, partially because I still couldn’t run more than 5 minutes without walking (I spent more time learning how not to drown and how not to fall off of the bicycle). So, I found a program much like the Couch-to-5-K and spent that fall and winter slowly building up until I could run. I still remember how awesome it felt once I could finish that first full mile. It did not come easy or quickly. There were weeks on that plan that I had to repeat because I could barely finish them, much less move on. And while at the time, it felt like failure, it really wasn’t, so long as I went back the next planned running day and ran, which is really the most important part of the plan - getting used to moving for 30-or-so-minutes, 3 times/week.
Zsofia if you can’t get your breath, a good bet is that you’re running too fast. It should be at an “easy” pace, meaning that you should be able to talk while running.
I’m not saying that some people isn’t build for running, I have no clue about that, but just to reassure others thinking about starting this program, I’d like to mention that I’m 32 year old, I still smoke a pack of cigarettes (atleast) a day and had a BMI that said I was morbidly obese when I started. Tomorrow I’m going to run 25 minutes of hilly roads for the 3th time this week. It won’t be fast but I’ll run it and I’m looking forward to it
Oh, trust me. It’s not that I’m running too fast. Little old ladies walk past me when I run. And I don’t have asthma or any other breathing problem. Just can’t do the running thing. I mean, I’m in really bad shape. You guys are probably starting out at a much better level of fitness. I’m strictly bred to be ornamental.
Listen, everybody. Zsofia. Rues. While it’s entirely possible that you indeed aren’t bred for running, let me tell you…
I thought I wasn’t either. My resting heart rate had been 80 my whole life. I used to get sick with nerves before running the mile in gym class. My best time ever for the mile was 12 minutes, and I had to go to the nurse’s office after that because my heart rate wouldn’t go below 100bpm an hour later. I hated running. Hated, hated, hated. I hated the taste of blood in my throat. I hated how I had to pant so hard that my spit turned to the consistency of rubber cement. Running, I thought, was an inestimable torture and to be avoided at all costs.
The C25K program, if you haven’t tried it, really does give you your best shot of being able to run. It starts you off very slowly and builds you up very cleverly. Come on: six weeks ago I couldn’t run. Last night, I ran for twenty minutes. That was close to two miles. The program is amazing. If you have been trying to just get off the couch and run a mile… don’t let that discourage you. Try this program. It’s miraculous.
And… though I’ve said it several times before… after W4 of the program, my resting heart rate had dropped from 80 to 68. Srsly.
To jsgoddess… so don’t fail. If you have to repeat a week, then you have to repeat a week. That’s just part of the program. I suggest to everyone that, before deciding you need to repeat a week, try the first run of the week after. I haven’t had to repeat a week so far, though I almost always think I will have to.
What **Sattua **said. When I was a kid I’d pant and slouch my way around the track during PE, and come in last. I actively loathed running/jogging. But somehow I’m doing OK now. I make gains every week (hell, I made a nice pace gain just yesterday that surprised the hell out of me!) I was never, ever athletic, although always active if that makes any sense. I am able to jog now, even though I’m schlepping 40# of dead weight along with.
And I find it’s easy to motivate myself when I think about running as part of hygiene, rather than exercise.
Congratulations, sounds awesome! What’s your BMI now, if I may ask? I want to track my weight, heart rate and BMI during the course of this. Hadn’t thought about the heart rate thing, so glad some folks here mentioned it. Might even check my BP; are those free machines in the grocery stores accurate enough, ya think?
It’s the Couch to 5K plan that I tried, twice. Major, major failure. Three weeks in, I still couldn’t do what you’re supposed to be doing the first day. I mean, it’s okay. My life is complete without running. Once the gym teacher had to stay behind during lunch to watch me finish running the mile in middle school.
And I do apologize - really, I shouldn’t have come into this thread - it isn’t helping you guys keep motivated to hear me piss and moan about how I just can’t do it. Get out there and get 'em!
I started with a weight of 96kg and a BMI of 30.99.
Now: 85.8kg and a BMI of 27.7 - this is probably mostly due to diet.
Resting heart rate was around 65 when I started, it’s 51 now. What I notice most is that in the beginning I was almost dead when my heartrate got above 170, I can now run comfortably at around 174.
I’m currently hovering at 90 kgs (198 lbs), which puts my BMI at 26.5. My resting heart rate is about 80, if I’m measuring it correctly. I’d like to get my weight back down to about 75 kgs, plus or minus a couple, but I’m probably not going to greatly change my diet, so if it comes off from running, fine, if not, oh well.
I’d really like to try this, too. I’ve heard of this program before and was curious about it. I just joined a gym today, actually, so hopefully this’ll help get me started. I’ve never run before, so it’ll definitely be an adventure! I don’t have an MP3 player or a stopwatch, but hopefully I can pick something up tomorrow (new shoes, too).
Even if you’re running so slowly that little old ladies pass you, if you’re breathing too hard, you’re going too fast for your fitness level. Walk more. I would check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program, just to make sure.
I ran today. 3R:1W (I discovered that I am recording it backwards, but this is how I learned it) today for a total of 13 minutes of running. It’s not enough and I’m a bit irked at the slowness of my progress but I didn’t get out of bed until late, which left me not enough time (because I have a busy morning ahead). Plan better–note to self…
I am also not getting my heart rate up enough: it was 138 about half way through. I still was feeling it, though. I didn’t take a resting one–I need to do that. :smack:
Are you guys doing it by distance or by time? I find myself doing it by time, and usually end up running at around 6-7mph (and thus doing more distance than what they’re asking).
Even though I know I like it and I’m making progress, I know I’m not like that in “real world”, mainly because I run an indoor track instead of the hills outside (I live in Athens, GA). And since I know how those hills are, and I know how clumsy I am, I avoid running in those places.
Also, some slight hijack that I’ve heard in some of my aerobics classes (though not so much now that I go to another gym). They keep saying breath through your nose, out through your mouth. WTF is that supposed to be about? Because I can breath in and out through one or the other, doing both confuses the hell out of me, and sometimes tires me.
Tomorrow is my last run for week 7 (25 mins, no stops). I like how they say “you just have to run 3 x/week, but if you do more, fine” because usually I do end up running 4-5 times/week or more.
That’s a relaxation technique and it forces you to concentrate on your breathing. I think some people starting holding their breath or otherwise screw up their breathing when they exercise.
Did my first run this morning with my lovely daughter. We got out of the house about 8 am, which is fairly astonishing as she is not a morning person. Got to see lots of cute dogs, ducks, herons and egrets. Fortunately the morning temp was relatively cool for our area, probably mid 70s and the skies were overcast which kept us from heating up too much. We used the podcast but somehow I ended up with one with no music, just voice queues, which was okay, but I’d prefer some music.
I am bribing my daughter a bit to keep her on-board: new running shoes yesterday, and I told her if she sticks with it I’ll get her an iPod Nano for the runs. I think we were running about 8 minute/mile pace for the first half and that probably slowed to about 9-10 minute/mile by the second half. We covered about 2.3-2.5 miles total, including the walking bits, and just went by time since I wouldn’t really know how to gauge the distance increments.
