It feels good to know I can do it. A year ago, if you had told me that I would be running for a mile without stopping, I wouldn’t have believed it.
The running itself still sucks, though. I hate it, hate it, hate it. I like how I feel AFTERWARDS, when I wash all the nasty off and my heart is back to a regular rate. I feel empowered and invincible. But while I’m running it feels pretty awful, and not in an acute “something’s wrong” way, but in the “oh god make it stop” way, like when you were 9 years old and your father tickled you until you wet your pants.
I havent heard of the caveman diet before. I like it! I’ll go shopping tomorrow and see what I can find. I’m not used to shopping for stuff that doesn’t come in cans or airtight containers.
I took this advice very seriously in my run today. I turned the speed down and ran as long and far as I could. I was surprised that I couldn’t make it too much further than a mile. I got 1.25 miles at somewhere around 15 minutes before the lungs said “no more!” I do feel like I accomplished a lot more by keeping my heart rate up longer than usual, and I’ll probably stick to your advice for most of my runs from now on. Every now and then it’s nice to just run as fast as you can and break your personal records though!
I wanted to add that I can really identify with your sentiments with regards to running. I was athletic as a kid. The last time I did any significant exercise was when I was 16. Other than that, I did move around a good bit working in the bar that I worked at. I lost weight there…
But that was a few years ago. Now I quit smoking two months ago. It has caused me to get a big doughy. I’ve never been overweight, and am one of “those people” but the point is that I’m 26 now, so i’m at the point where I need to start taking care of myself unless I want to get seriously behind.
So every other time I’d tried running, I couldn’t run a mile. I would do terribly, exactly as all of you described above. But on my latest attempt to run, I learned what I’d been doing wrong. I’m not saying this is what everyone should do, but give it a shot and see where it takes you…
So I went out and started slower than I thought I should. It was a bit difficult but I made it. I don’t care about the time, but it really taught me a lot about pace. I had been running in a way that really tired me out.
But now things are far better. It’s difficult but I have a much better idea of what pace means. I think this is the hardest part about learning how to run.
God, it’s been years since I’ve ran, so I probably shouldn’t be one to give advice, but I think pacing and psychology are the two most important things. If you think one mile is a long run, then you’re already psyching yourself out. And I really do believe that first mile is one of the hardest, as your body is getting used to the rhythm and pace of the run. When I used to run, it wasn’t until about 30 minutes into a run that I’d feel like I was in a comfortable groove. Like some posters mentioned above, it really isn’t that much about the pace as it is keeping your heart rate up and steady for a a certain amount of time. Keep running a fixed amount of time several times a week (and steadily increase the time), and your mile times should naturally drop. I wouldn’t worry about distance so much as time.
Ack. That’s not clear. I mean that, at first, I would structure runs with the goal of running for a certain period of time, rather than for a certain distance. After your body gets used to running for 20-30 minutes at a go, then I would start pushing the pace a little, or extending the runs.
Another vote here for the slow easy buildup that will take you wherever you want to go.
At 37, I started running a mile or two at the gym, at a 12min mile pace.
By just increasing the milage and the pace slowly over the next several months, I was able to run a half marathon that November.
I never ran another race after that, and I wonder if I will ever run a full marathon, but regardless of that, I happily run 25-30mi per week. It is a joy and I am thinner than I was before by a long shot.
Just fit it into your life’s routine, and once you have done so, you will see the distances creeping up and you will find you are able to breathe easier. I’m pretty certain that the only reason why I max out at 13-14mi these days is because I don’t train with a formal plan and I don’t do weight training. If I started weights again and started following one of those plans that mix up the fast and slow runs I’d make the marathon.
Don’t get tendonitis like I did: if your body starts really complaining, back off a bit.
Get a complete physical the next time you can. You might find out stuff that is of interest, like I did :).
What you are doing is forcing your body to make an adaptation. Like a recalcitrant schoolchild it is fighting you and asking you if it’s really necessary, and whining a lot. From an evolutionary standpoint your body is very happy in a sedentary fuel storage mode.
Probably right now you are still experiencing something called “a second wind.” Sadly, the second wind probably doesn’t last long.
Your body is running it’s mile or so on ready energy that it has on hand. Your body is fighting you to stay at that level, because in it’s experience that’s all that you ever require of it. There is however, a whole bunch of stored carbohydrates in your cells that can be converted to energy. Stoking up this furnace is a bit of a big deal for your body at this stage, and it just doesn’t want to do it, hence the feelings of unpleasantness that start to creep in and grow rapidly somewhere around 5-7 minutes into your run.
If you’re running for 20 minutes your body is forced to used that furnace. The more you force it the more your body will get used to it.
If you can stick with it for about two months, I promise the feelings of misery and hatred will go away. Running will become a needed pleasure. You will have that “invincible” feeling while you run!
Now you will really be at danger for injury because you’ve adapted cardiovascularly faster than you can from a muscular-skeletal standpoint. You will want to run longer than you are ready for because it feels good, and if you do you are likely to injure yourself.
There’s really no good reason healthwise to proceed much further than this, but if you do, increase mileage no more than 10% a week (I recommend 10% a month for the first 4- months)
It’s smooth sailing from here up to about 18 miles or so. It’s a whole new ballgame at that level when you “hit the wall.”
Keep me posted. I’ve had a lot of success with the caveman diet.
Don’t push yourself too far to fast. Look at the 20 minutes as a goal, not something you have to do tomorrow. Take rest days, and listen to your body when it stops the normal complaining and tells you something’s wrong.
Do not get yourself hurt by overtraining.
You’re well on your way to getting there yourself.