# Running is easier after the first mile...why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 21, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840 "2010-10-21T00:23:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/21 "2010-10-21T15:16:15Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I don’t think that’s enough to really warm up the muscles and make the changes that **runner pat** is talking about. Before a race you’ll see most runners doing some pretty significant running to get the body into operating mode, otherwise their first mile or so will be inefficient. For a training run I just expect the first 1-2 miles to be slower and a bit awkward, but I’m not really concerned about overall time. I’m not racing right now and I’m tracking my time to note improvements. You realize I’m very new at running with any consistency. I’m warming up in the manner the Couch-to-5K training program dictates. Are you suggesting it’s not sufficient for a half hour training run? If so, what should I be doing? Also, I’m running 3-4 days per week. How much time do you feel I should be dedicating to those runs (including warm-up time)? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/22 "2010-10-21T15:18:14Z")
> [@Norse](#): > > I’m convinced that you’re not really warmed up when you start your run. > This is OK for a get-out-of-resting-mode and preparing your muscles, tendons and joints for physical activity. It’s not, however, even remotely sufficient to get your body up there in maximum performance mode. To be really warmed up, need to use 20-30 minutes and you need to get your heart rate up to max at least a couple of times before your body is up to max performance. > > What you’re experiencing is just your body reaching full performance mode. The first mile is just the real warmup > > The warmup period is also generally going to take longer and longer time as your body ages. 😉 Sot I should be running for an hour? Or I should just anticipate that my first mile is always going to feel cruddy and ignore the crud? ---
**Author:** ![This\_Just\_In\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@This\_Just\_In\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_Just_In_2)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/23 "2010-10-21T15:33:34Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Sounds like you’ve blown your reserve right out of the gate. I’ve been shooting for negative splits, but I only get it in my second mile. I’m probably blowing mine early as well. Why is it desired by most runners to run negative splits? Example, in a 3 mile run, if I run 6min, 6.5min and 7min miles -but someone else runs 7min, 6.5min and 6min miles, then obviously we finish at the same time. I choose to run faster at the beginning because that is when I physically and emotionally feel the best. When I start running that first mile I sometimes feel like my feet are springs as I have excess energy and I’m really enjoying it since I probably haven’t done it for a day or two. Whereas if I purposely run slower the first mile and then try to speed up I don’t have that advantage anymore. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/24 "2010-10-21T15:33:59Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > I’m not racing right now and I’m tracking my time to note improvements. You realize I’m very new at running with any consistency. I’m warming up in the manner the Couch-to-5K training program dictates. Are you suggesting it’s not sufficient for a half hour training run? If so, what should I be doing? > > Also, I’m running 3-4 days per week. How much time do you feel I should be dedicating to those runs (including warm-up time)? Don’t worry about it, trying to up your mileage to fast will just result in overtraining and/or injuries. You need time for your body to adapt to the stress. Negative splits usually refer to first half/second half regardless of distance. Ideally as you warm up you will go a bit faster just because you’re running more efficiently. For a training run, don’t force it. > [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Sot I should be running for an hour? Or I should just anticipate that my first mile is always going to feel cruddy and ignore the crud? The first mile will always feel cruddy. I started running in 1976 and I never had a good first mile. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/25 "2010-10-21T15:40:41Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > I’m not racing right now and I’m tracking my time to note improvements. You realize I’m very new at running with any consistency. I’m warming up in the manner the Couch-to-5K training program dictates. Are you suggesting it’s not sufficient for a half hour training run? If so, what should I be doing? > > Also, I’m running 3-4 days per week. How much time do you feel I should be dedicating to those runs (including warm-up time)? Follow the program as written if you’re a new runner. I personally do not do any kind of warm up (and never have), just go straight into that first mile. That’s my warm-up. Were I racing, I’d probably do a 5-minute jog to get the system flowing, but for training runs? Straight into running. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/26 "2010-10-21T15:45:45Z")
> [@This\_Just\_In\_2](#): > > Why is it desired by most runners to run negative splits? Example, in a 3 mile run, if I run 6min, 6.5min and 7min miles -but someone else runs 7min, 6.5min and 6min miles, then obviously we finish at the same time. > > I choose to run faster at the beginning because that is when I physically and emotionally feel the best. When I start running that first mile I sometimes feel like my feet are springs as I have excess energy and I’m really enjoying it since I probably haven’t done it for a day or two. Whereas if I purposely run slower the first mile and then try to speed up I don’t have that advantage anymore. Some people are “front runners”.😉 However, you are certainly building an early oxygen debt and raising lactate levels and making the second half more difficult. Note this applies to racing not a general training run. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/27 "2010-10-21T16:01:13Z")
Sorry,got called away before I could finish. \*\* This\_Just\_In…\*\*, even though you feel full of energy, starting too fast will result in a slower time than you’re capable of. The time you save in the beginning will result in losing more than that time due to excessive fatigue near the end. I’ve never seen a runner who adopts an even pace strategy and not run a PR(sometimes substantial) due to a better rationing of energy and management of lactate levels and fatigue. ---
**Author:** ![This\_Just\_In\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@This\_Just\_In\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_Just_In_2)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/28 "2010-10-21T16:17:29Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Sorry,got called away before I could finish. > \*\* > This\_Just\_In…\*\*, even though you feel full of energy, starting too fast will result in a slower time than you’re capable of. The time you save in the beginning will result in losing more than that time due to excessive fatigue near the end. Makes sense about the oxygen debt/fatigue. I may try adjusting my workouts - most of which are on the treadmill. I have always started with at least a 2% incline and the highest speed I’m capable of sustaining for that first mile, then I back off slightly as needed until the last 1/4 mile when I go all out again. I’ll try taking the first mile slower and see what happens. My current goal is to reduce my 5K time about 1 minute to get it under 19 minutes (on an outdoor run). Maybe this will help. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/29 "2010-10-21T18:39:01Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Sot I should be running for an hour? Or I should just anticipate that my first mile is always going to feel cruddy and ignore the crud? I’d go for the second alternative, at least until you’ve got some more experience about how your body reacts to exercise. Overtraining is a real risk if you start too hard. Just take it a little bit easier until you feel the “flow”, and then crank up the intensity after the first mile. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/30 "2010-10-21T19:05:09Z")
> [@Norse](#): > > I’d go for the second alternative, at least until you’ve got some more experience about how your body reacts to exercise. Overtraining is a real risk if you start too hard. Yes. When I got back into running a few years ago, I tried to pick up pretty much full speed, with 4- to 8-mile work outs. (When I started running track, our first workout was four miles–and I never ran more than a mile before that. After that, no workout was less than 6 miles, and I figured if it worked then, it’ll work now. Well, a 30-some-year-old body isn’t quite as resilient as a 14-year-old’s.) My body handled it fine for a about a month or two, and then my foot decided to crap out on me, which took me out of commission from running for about 3 weeks. (I could barely walk for about 3 or 4 days, the pain was so bad in my right foot.) When I started up the second time, I worked up slowly from 3 and 4 mile runs, and each week upped my mileage by no more than 10%. That worked out much better, and I haven’t gotten injured since. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/31 "2010-10-21T20:02:20Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > I’ve always found that after the first mile of running, it gets easier because the ambulance is doing most of the work. I may have just found a new sig line. ---
**Author:** ![Pantani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/87869e/32.png) [@Pantani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantani)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/32 "2010-10-21T20:24:05Z")
As a cyclist I find that my “second wind” kicks in after about 45 min to and hour of hard effort. I’ve always assumed that it was the endorphins kicking in. I’ve also noticed that when doing intervals in training (periods of hard effort with periods recovery in between) they seems to be less painful as they go on even though I can see from my heartrate monitor that I am putting in more effort. They body is a strange thing when it comes to exersise and in many ways we are only just starting to understand why it does what it does. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/33 "2010-10-22T04:46:15Z")
> [@This\_Just\_In\_2](#): > > Makes sense about the oxygen debt/fatigue. I may try adjusting my workouts - most of which are on the treadmill. I have always started with at least a 2% incline and the highest speed I’m capable of sustaining for that first mile, then I back off slightly as needed until the last 1/4 mile when I go all out again. > > I’ll try taking the first mile slower and see what happens. My current goal is to reduce my 5K time about 1 minute to get it under 19 minutes (on an outdoor run). Maybe this will help. Or maybe try increasing your incline at the beginning? Running up a hill at the beginning of my run slows me down, which is good, because I usually start too fast and I end up paying for it later. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/34 "2010-10-22T05:03:38Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Don’t worry about it, trying to up your mileage to fast will just result in overtraining and/or injuries. You need time for your body to adapt to the stress. > > Negative splits usually refer to first half/second half regardless of distance. Ideally as you warm up you will go a bit faster just because you’re running more efficiently. For a training run, don’t force it. > > The first mile will always feel cruddy. > I started running in 1976 and I never had a good first mile. Been there, done that already. Messed up my foot by too much mileage in the 5th and 6th weeks and had to sit out two weeks out that. I’m easing back into it having learned my lesson. As a result, I just finished repeating the 5th and 6th week in the program. I’m going for negative splits because I’m trying to learn how to pace myself and also challenge myself and learn what my body can do. I don’t know what a nine minute mile feels like, so I’m working on intuiting the feel of that pace, so I track it pretty closely. I don’t feel like I’m forcing anything, really, other than the push in the last minute to get a little farther. Well, I take that back. That first mile does feel like I’m forcing myself to keep going, despite the fact that I know perfectly well I can keep going for quite a ways yet. I know that I can run for at least 5 miles (at a slower pace), but I’m not forcing myself to do that. Once I’m done with this program, I plan to start with some tempo runs, track intervals, and hill repeats. I am looking to improve my endurance and speed. My goals are to start racing in every length up to marathon. I plan to finish at the top of my age division. There, I said it. Heck, I may even ultra, I don’t know. Anything is possible at this point. Good to know that I’m not the only one that hates that first mile. I keep thinking my brain and body will get with the program, but it just won’t. Well, it does. During the second mile, but not a foot before then. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840/35 "2010-10-22T05:19:28Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I think, although I have no citations, that so much of running is mental. When I was doing it a lot, it didn’t matter how fast or how long I was running - there was a point when my brain realized that, no shit, we’re really going to do this and you need to shut up. It could be affected by a good song on the iPod, for pity’s sake. (Unfortunately, a different one every time.) I think the physical parts are a factor, obviously, but the brain has a huge deciding vote. I have been thinking a lot about this and I agree with it for the most part. But I’ve also noticed physical changes taking place, lowered heart rate, for instance, occurring at about the same time I get that mental click that everything just got easier. The thing is mentally, I’m all in. I get up in the morning and look forward to my run. I’m psyching while I’m throwing on my gear and warming up. I’m anticipating the bell in my ears telling me to go and once I go…my brain goes, “Oh, really?” And then I’m like, “Yah, really! Are you kidding me?” And then my brain goes, “But your body is saying it’s too tired.” And I go, “It lies.” And my brain goes, “Well, if you say so…” And I go, “Yeah, I say so.” Then we run for a bit and suddenly my brain goes, “Hey, the heart rate just dropped and I’m getting reports that your legs just bumped up their cadence.” Me: “Yeah, I noticed.” Brain: “Do you feel anything weird?” Me: “Not really.” Brain: “You know what? This is really fun!” Me: “No shit!” I mean, we do this every other day. I can’t understand why brain is so reluctant to accept the inevitable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-is-easier-after-the-first-mile-why/557840.md?page=1)