If you went from nothing to 30 minute jogs, likely a little while. Whatâs your history? Solid couch potato with a potato shaped body or worse? Youâre looking at a couple hard months. Formerly fit/fit-ish, maybe some high school sports or something? Maybe an unpleasant month or so. Youâd be better off easing into it a little slower. Can you do a brisk walk for 30+ minutes? Jog for 10-15? Build up to a full 30 minute jog. They have things like C25K (Couch to 5K) programs that give you good pacing.
I work in the trades, constantly pushing 400lbs crates on wheels, Iâm not unfit, but I wouldnât say Iâm running fit. Itâs like a whole new part of my feet and legs just gives out while other parts can keep going
Everyoneâs body is different but try lighter and more frequent. 3x 20 minutes. You can always push faster, more frequent once you get past âit always feels like Iâm dyingâ, but at this point youâre trying to convince your body, âthis will be a regular thing, I need to be able to do thisâ.
Do 3x 20 and add in walks on off days. Anything to overall make your body raise its âfloorâ for cardio.
Taking days off is when your body immediately tells your lungs and heart âsee I knew he was kidding!â
You can go from marathon shape to having running be a struggle at old levels with 4 weeks of inactivity. Most people go faaaar longer than that without exercising and think there is something wrong with or unique to them.
Our bodies want to save energy and not waste it burning calories to keep you in shape, so regularity trumps all. Go light, go often, and slowly increase pace, duration, frequency as it feels good. Your body will respond in time.
Thatâs the SAID (specific adaptation to imposed demand) principle at work. Youâve gotten used the movements you do every day and your muscles can perform them more efficiently. The same will eventually happen with running, once youâve been doing it long enough for it to not feel like a new movement. Keep at it.
Stop pushing yourself to where you feel like youâre dying. If youâre new to this much exercise, youâre having to build up both muscles/tendons and breath.
Tendons and connective tissue take longer to condition than muscles. Donât push to injury.
Aerobic capacity grows by working out in aerobic range. If you push past that to when youâre gasping for breath, you arenât improving your aerobic capacity as efficiently as you could.
Nerd rabbit hole, you want Zone 2 training and you can find a bajillion YouTube videos on it. The less-nerd version is run until you start losing your breath, slow down or even walk until you catch it again, run until you lose it, rinse and repeat.
Couch to 5k programs are fine. I think if youâre trying to do this for longer-term goals than a 5k in ten weeks, then look for zone 2 training instead of couch to 5k. Zone 2 training will be slower advancement but result in a more robust base.
Also something few people talk about is fully breathing out all of your breath. A lot of people donât expel their full breath and end up gasping but not exchanging much air. Breathing technique can also help with this.
Thatâs a big one. I get side stitches easily and something thatâs helped immensely with preventing them and improved my breathing when walking, especially up big stupid hills, is breathing in through the nose and out the mouth
Drop it to ten minutes a run plus walking, but up it to four times a week. Youâre better off taking it slow and working up. Easier on your lower back and knees. Good shoes also matter. Might want to add some free calisthenics too. Body weight squats, pushups, dead hangs at a pullup bar, etc.
I never got to the point that jogging felt good. But eventually what happened was that Iâd feel better for the rest of the day on a day I ran, than on a day I did not run.
Aerobic dance classes are enjoyable once my aerobic base develops but running is boring and a drag always.
As someone who also drinks ⊠donât. It is terrible for your cardio and definitely contributes to feeling like death, because your heart is recovering from some toxicity if youâve drank within 24 hours or maybe more.
Other than that, other people have good advice. The âzone 2â stuff is probably most relevant if youâre already semi-fit.
Other than that, all I can say is, the first ~5 minutes of any heavy cardio are going to suck, roughly for ever. Even in good shape, it takes the body a good long moment to warm up. Iâm sure a proper warmup could reduce the, âIâm dyingâ feeling down to a, âyep, this is workâ, but if you drank within a day, the feeling will be very easy to get regardless.
I havenât found the first 5 mins too bad. Itâs the last 5 mins that suck on a 5k. Just did my first running end to end and by the end the only thing keeping me going was determination to keep going as I had already been going for so long.
I know that sounds a little bit stupid but: In a way going faster makes things easier. I recently improved my 5k record by a couple minutes (sub 22) and when I compare it to me 2 years ago it is in a way easier, because I only need to run at my peak speed for less time.
I am sure with time you will have a similair experience.
But in general if the ending is hard and the beginning easy then you should start/run at a slower pace at least a couple times on this distance.
If you donât have a way to pace yourself â kind of never.
If you havenât already looked at âcouch to 5kâ give it a look. Iâve been more successful with a form of intervals for some days and only one day of âsolidâ running.
30 mins is long for a beginner unless you just do a fast walk. Better to just do 10 minutes every day and keep track of your pace. Then increase the speed first when the sessions become easier. Then once your pace is decent and it doesnât tire you add interval training at the end of every other session so alternate between a sprint and a jog every 30 seconds. For like 5 times and increase the reps or the duration when it becomes easy.
Then later on you can add a second 10 minute session like at the end of the day on a couple of days in your week where you do something different like hill or stair climbing.
With your current training schedule there is a good chance you will quit altogether. Donât make it hard on yourself. Also if you become super exhausted after a run it doesnât mean you trained better and will progress faster compared to a run where you still feel fine afterwards, it can actually cause the opposite since your are more likely to injure yourself.
Are you jogging with a toe to heel motion, or a heel to toe motion?
From what Iâve seen, most people have no idea what proper form is for running. I was the same way until I thought to myself, âmaybe itâs not just my body being shitty.â
It helps to not think about running as taking steps, because itâs not. When you take a step, itâs basically a controlled fall. You step out and lean forward landing on your heel and rolling to the ball of your foot
Running is pretty much the opposite. Youâre pushing yourself forward with whatâs basically a small jump. You want your feet to start off nearly directly below your hips, push off with the ball of your foot, and land on the ball of your other foot with your heel off the ground, as close to under your hips as you can.
No but I see them casually having conversations while running with their friends annd that seems like magic to me. I get embarrassed at how I breathe after a flight of stairs or if I have to hurry a little crossing the street.
Yeah, I hear ya. Any cardio exercise helps with that though. I like to hike on local trails at a brisk pace and Iâm in a decent place there (not running any 10Ks though)
A work friend and I run a 5k twice a week at lunch. There is something therapeutic that happens when you jog with a friend at a casual pace. You canât look each other in the eye so you say a lot of things that youâd normally be uncomfortable talking about.
Itâs probably very dependent of your current physical status but trust me at some point it will be like being on a machine moving you through the environment. You will stop feeling anything about it, much like walking, standing or sitting.
Which ones might those be? Iâve got Fitbit and Google fit workouts but neither of those have that feature.
So far Iâve just been jogging until I canât and then walking for a good 2 minutes before I start again
Nah itâs mostly a smart watch with Fitbit capabilities, and yeah itâs tragic, google literally crippled Fitbit devices when they bought them so that pixel devices would sell. Like actually removed basic functionality.
A good program will build your capacity without crushing you. When I did mine, the first two weeks of the program felt laughably light. But I built the ability to run 10k, and half-marathons.
But it was building capacity, and not training for maximal stress per run.
2nd this program. It eases you into building the habit.
I also think 30 mins twice a week is a bit rough to start. I would start with shorter but more frequent runs. This is how the program is designed too.
I dont run anymore, but when I did, I intently focused on my breathing to keep it slow and stable, even if I was dying. I was never a fast runner, short legs didnt help, but, I could go for awhile after some time.
Maybe never. Some other people also wrote it. But I think only this is not the whole truth: For me I am now running for 2.5 years and I never really stopped feeling like im dying, but I improved over time, so now i am really fast while feeling dead. And you will probably also learn to like this feeling of dying because it shows you you have done something.
Also, yeah there is running in Zone2 for everyone, and thats probably something you should try.
How long have you been doing it? I remember when I was first getting into running and struggling like this.
I forget how much time it was, but within a year, I was running a 5k at least twice a week. In addition to that, I ran 8k twice, but that was pretty intense and I had a lot of pain after doing that. So, I stopped doing that.
What I am trying to say is just keep with it and if you are running a pace that causes you breath so heavy. that you canât talk, then slow down your pace.
Could be never. After 2 years of trying to get fit again after having Covid it turned out I have Post Exertional Malaise and exercise literally damages my body.
Runner who has done a marathon here, I think the wall your hitting is when your body is switching gears from warm-up to cardio. Everyone is suggesting the couch-to-5/10k programs and that may help. I would suggest pushing your time spent running a bit further, more time doing cardio should improve things.
I just restarted my long-run training for the year (because its not cold outside anymore, and I want to run a race this year, its been a bit) and just passed that point where I can just go without having to take walking breaks on my âdefault loopâ.
Also goals, having something to look forward to or to work towards helps a lot. Keep up the good work.
It takes a while for all the support muscles to strengthen. Once the body pain stops or at least is manageable the best way to improve your heartâs ability to keep up on the run is to interval train. It sucks but itâs worth it to pick up speed and stamina.
Oh yeah; do a good stretch before and after the bulk of your run. Focus on the areas that are most sore after youâre done. I have plantar fasciitis and tight hips so I do a ton of hip and calf stretches once Iâm warmed up, and when Iâm cooling down.
Thereâs a lot of factors, itâs a matter of training your body to get used to the effort. I used to jog a lot myself, beginning it sucked, after a month or two the happy chemicals started working that made it feel good. Add in going out on beautiful days as well and seeing nature helps as well. Itâs easier to do it here in the spring and autumn months because the weather is much more agreeable.
If I had to guess, youâre in need of building up your aerobic base. To do this youâre going to want to aim for having more time on your feet, which of course is tricky since it feels so heavy for you at the moment (Iâve been there).
The key insight for me was that I needed to decrease my intensity during runs. 80% of your runs should be at an easy pace, which is defined as a rate of perceived exertion (RPE) of 4/10 or less.
When I started adopting this, it felt like I was running at an annoyingly slow pace. For some people, it might even mean that you donât run continuously during your sessions, and instead do a mix of running and walking (X minutes on, X minutes off).
Basically, if you say you always felt like you were dying, you were almost certainly always engaging your anaerobic system. This is the kind of running that âfeels like trainingâ, because our physical culture has conditioned us to believe that all progress requires suffering. But this zone goes by the name âblack hole trainingâ for a reason - it beats you up enough that you canât get the volume in for further aerobic adaptation, while simultaneously not sufficiently taxing your aerobic system to create sustainable gains. Runners who follow a scientific training approach spend 90% of their time below the anaerobic threshold, running at a comfortable conversational / nose breathing pace. If you canât sustain running while nose breathing, then just walking, power walking, or using a walk-run protocol is preferred to simply trying to push through.
Meanwhile, it is also possible that you would have benefitted from heavy lifting or sprint work. Efficient runners bounce, rather than slog. The rely more on muscle stiffness and tendon elasticity to propel them forward, instead of relying on muscle contraction. The stiffness and coordination required is created by having a solid core (so the snap doesnât wiggle out) and exerting maximum force.
Thatâs true for any decent workout, not running in particular. You canât be âcareful not to trigger itâ because your body decides whether or not it happens. You can get it on your 10th workout or your first.
Start off slower, pace yourself, and also maybe supplement with something else thatâs low impact like bicycling or swimming (both can be great cardio). Donât forget to add strength training days and rest days too.
Eating right and getting adequate sleep is also going to help a lot.
Just remember not to go overboard on the protein: Check your weight, age, and activity level to determine how much protein you should actually have (somewhere between 10% to 35% of your total calories). Too much or too little can have bad outcomes.
Do not forget to eat a bit healthier. And I would recommend against alcohol and smoking. Those things make the run feel more like dying. And it will take some weeks at the least. Donât give up, youâre doing great :)
I know youâve mentioned having a fitbit. Years ago I had a hand me down and it gave me insight into my sleep that was invaluable. Fast forward, got back into running for the fifth or so time in my life - a few Garmin watches later, and made a conscious choice post covid to stop making myself miserable through alcohol. I still enjoy a drink here and there but it is absolutely stunning how bad one or two drinks will screw up your sleep - and at that point it is a good night but the entire next day is garbage.
Short version of this was meant to say - get good sleep tracking and it may open your eyes a bit and help you focus on your goals. I go to bed much earlier than I used to (9pm feels late now) and target 8 hours of quality sleep - especially on nights before runs, which now is every two days unless I have an event - like a concert or something - that wipes me out.
If youâre training right it never gets any easier, but you do get faster.
Having said that, most people when they first start canât run slow enough to maintain a stable aerobic heart rate. The solution is alternating run / walk, building up to progressively more running between walk breaks.
As an example, right now I can maintain 11:00 mi / mile at, my threshold heart rate, where I can maintain a conversation, and feel like I can keep going indefinitely. So I run 80% of my runs at that speed, and the rest at faster speeds over shorter distances. Great.
But 2 years ago when I restarted running after a break, my aerobic pace was more than 13:00 / mile. Thatâs a problem because at that speed I canât physically maintain the running mechanic. It breaks down. So the only options are to run faster than optimal, which means youâre not getting aerobic training (instead itâs anaerobic training); or to slow down into the walking mechanic.
Research suggests that slow running in the aerobic zone is the key to improving aerobic pace and endurance. And if that aerobic pace is not possible because of mechanics, then alternating run / walk is a good way to average out the heart rate.
Stop feeling like you are dying? That is the wrong attitude. You need to say you like dying actually! You will show them, you will show them all true dying! Then run hard, and die harder!
Some months later, you will ask âwhy am I not dying!?! This does not feel like dying at all!â, and then you will run for longer and faster, hoping to feel like you are dying again.
EDIT: Knowing your VO2 max helps, carbomaxxing before running is also a good idea.
this is exactly why I donât do it. I can walk at a pace that is almost faster than I can jog foever but the moment I start having both feet off the ground at once I canât breathe. I kinda have the same problem with swimming a front crawl. I just canât get the cadence right and end up inhaling water. I do believe the key may be in your breathing rythm vs your physical movements based on my own ineptness. Take that for what you will.
my sisters actually do have excersise induced but I tried to get it checked out at one point and it just kinda fell off the radar. Partially because im fine not jogging. I like walking and biking. I sorta hate excersie just to excersise and like to have it come while doing other things. I really wanted a row bike at one point and was kinda bummed it fell apart as a thing.
Iâm in my early 60s and went from walking to jogging a couple years ago. I did it differently than you. My usual walk was about two miles, and I just started jogging the portion I could and walking the rest. At first, my jogging was only a couple blocks, but as I kept doing it, I got to be able to go further, a little at a time. My goal was really just to keep my heart rate up for 20 to 30 minutes and get some cardio.
So Iâm there now. I jog a couple miles every other day. Takes me about 25 minutes, so Iâm not breaking any speed records, but my heart rate is between 150 and 170 for much of it, so I feel like Iâm meeting my goal.
It wonât. At least not with that approach. You need to strengthen your feet and tendons. I know, youâre fit and you lift. But consider that a typical pace will have each foot hitting the ground 70-90 times a minute. Even at the lower end thats over 2000 foot strikes per side during your run. That will do damage so you need to work up to it.
Try 30 minutes of running for 2 minutes and walking for 1 three times a week. Every week increase the run by a minute. By the time you reach 8:1 you can choose to not stop. Pace should be easy, lime you can maintain a conversation.
After you can run for 30 minutes continuously 3 times a week without felling like death, you can get fancy with the training protocol. But the early weeks are the toughest because you feel like you can do more, but you should absolutely not.
Dude I have been running for years. Some months I do 4 to 5 days a week and others only 3. I do 5ks and 10ks and would like to do a half marathon. I have stated biking a few days a week. While I time has improved it is hell for me to get under a 15 min mile consistently. It hurts when I start and I am hurting when I finish. Yes I smoked for about 20 years and I have been quit for a long time. I am 63 and I feel like this is as good as I am going to get. But you know what? I am going to keep going because if I donât I will get fat and die. So keep pushing.
Back when I started running (and it sounds like I was in worse shape than you) Iâd do 30 minutes, but strictly regimented times - jog for one minute, walk for one minute. Then 1.5/1.5, 2/2, etc. I think around 5 the break time froze, but the jog time increased. Eventually I found I didnât need the whole break and started decreasing it.
Following that pattern, I think it took a month or so for 30 without pain. Then comes increasing the speed, aiming for distance instead of time.
Longer rest periods seem to help me a lot. Iâll be at the gym for a month or two consistently then take a week off. I always come back stronger and with more endurance.
You definitely need to be consistent to keep progressing but take breaks too. Just donât make one week off turn into 2+ weeks off.
I donât think 2 x a week is a good workout. I seem to recall reading somewhere that strenuous 2 x week workouts can be stressful on the body vs how much benefit it offers. Note: twice weekly modest workouts are very helpful.
Try reducing the length of the run and/or substituting fast walk warmup and cooldowns, and adding a gym or some other workout to bring it up to 3x workouts in a week.
Europe Pub (PieFed)
If you went from nothing to 30 minute jogs, likely a little while. Whatâs your history? Solid couch potato with a potato shaped body or worse? Youâre looking at a couple hard months. Formerly fit/fit-ish, maybe some high school sports or something? Maybe an unpleasant month or so. Youâd be better off easing into it a little slower. Can you do a brisk walk for 30+ minutes? Jog for 10-15? Build up to a full 30 minute jog. They have things like C25K (Couch to 5K) programs that give you good pacing.
I work in the trades, constantly pushing 400lbs crates on wheels, Iâm not unfit, but I wouldnât say Iâm running fit. Itâs like a whole new part of my feet and legs just gives out while other parts can keep going
Imo the leg muscle pain from a lite run will go away fast. Especially if your body is used to work, like you have.
Itâs worse if I skipped a run one week
Everyoneâs body is different but try lighter and more frequent. 3x 20 minutes. You can always push faster, more frequent once you get past âit always feels like Iâm dyingâ, but at this point youâre trying to convince your body, âthis will be a regular thing, I need to be able to do thisâ.
Do 3x 20 and add in walks on off days. Anything to overall make your body raise its âfloorâ for cardio.
Taking days off is when your body immediately tells your lungs and heart âsee I knew he was kidding!â
You can go from marathon shape to having running be a struggle at old levels with 4 weeks of inactivity. Most people go faaaar longer than that without exercising and think there is something wrong with or unique to them.
Our bodies want to save energy and not waste it burning calories to keep you in shape, so regularity trumps all. Go light, go often, and slowly increase pace, duration, frequency as it feels good. Your body will respond in time.
Thatâs the SAID (specific adaptation to imposed demand) principle at work. Youâve gotten used the movements you do every day and your muscles can perform them more efficiently. The same will eventually happen with running, once youâve been doing it long enough for it to not feel like a new movement. Keep at it.
Stop pushing yourself to where you feel like youâre dying. If youâre new to this much exercise, youâre having to build up both muscles/tendons and breath.
Tendons and connective tissue take longer to condition than muscles. Donât push to injury.
Aerobic capacity grows by working out in aerobic range. If you push past that to when youâre gasping for breath, you arenât improving your aerobic capacity as efficiently as you could.
Nerd rabbit hole, you want Zone 2 training and you can find a bajillion YouTube videos on it. The less-nerd version is run until you start losing your breath, slow down or even walk until you catch it again, run until you lose it, rinse and repeat.
Couch to 5k programs are fine. I think if youâre trying to do this for longer-term goals than a 5k in ten weeks, then look for zone 2 training instead of couch to 5k. Zone 2 training will be slower advancement but result in a more robust base.
Also something few people talk about is fully breathing out all of your breath. A lot of people donât expel their full breath and end up gasping but not exchanging much air. Breathing technique can also help with this.
Thatâs a big one. I get side stitches easily and something thatâs helped immensely with preventing them and improved my breathing when walking, especially up big stupid hills, is breathing in through the nose and out the mouth
I think the point is that it isnât slower, itâs really faster because it actually works.
But also, at the same time: Iâm mad that the people who said âexercise gives you energyâ were right.
Drop it to ten minutes a run plus walking, but up it to four times a week. Youâre better off taking it slow and working up. Easier on your lower back and knees. Good shoes also matter. Might want to add some free calisthenics too. Body weight squats, pushups, dead hangs at a pullup bar, etc.
I never got to the point that jogging felt good. But eventually what happened was that Iâd feel better for the rest of the day on a day I ran, than on a day I did not run.
Aerobic dance classes are enjoyable once my aerobic base develops but running is boring and a drag always.
As someone who also drinks ⊠donât. It is terrible for your cardio and definitely contributes to feeling like death, because your heart is recovering from some toxicity if youâve drank within 24 hours or maybe more.
Other than that, other people have good advice. The âzone 2â stuff is probably most relevant if youâre already semi-fit.
Other than that, all I can say is, the first ~5 minutes of any heavy cardio are going to suck, roughly for ever. Even in good shape, it takes the body a good long moment to warm up. Iâm sure a proper warmup could reduce the, âIâm dyingâ feeling down to a, âyep, this is workâ, but if you drank within a day, the feeling will be very easy to get regardless.
I havenât found the first 5 mins too bad. Itâs the last 5 mins that suck on a 5k. Just did my first running end to end and by the end the only thing keeping me going was determination to keep going as I had already been going for so long.
I know that sounds a little bit stupid but: In a way going faster makes things easier. I recently improved my 5k record by a couple minutes (sub 22) and when I compare it to me 2 years ago it is in a way easier, because I only need to run at my peak speed for less time. I am sure with time you will have a similair experience.
But in general if the ending is hard and the beginning easy then you should start/run at a slower pace at least a couple times on this distance.
I often struggle with pacing in general, park run here is like 600 or so people so I usually keep with others for a while.
If you donât have a way to pace yourself â kind of never.
If you havenât already looked at âcouch to 5kâ give it a look. Iâve been more successful with a form of intervals for some days and only one day of âsolidâ running.
30 mins is long for a beginner unless you just do a fast walk. Better to just do 10 minutes every day and keep track of your pace. Then increase the speed first when the sessions become easier. Then once your pace is decent and it doesnât tire you add interval training at the end of every other session so alternate between a sprint and a jog every 30 seconds. For like 5 times and increase the reps or the duration when it becomes easy. Then later on you can add a second 10 minute session like at the end of the day on a couple of days in your week where you do something different like hill or stair climbing.
With your current training schedule there is a good chance you will quit altogether. Donât make it hard on yourself. Also if you become super exhausted after a run it doesnât mean you trained better and will progress faster compared to a run where you still feel fine afterwards, it can actually cause the opposite since your are more likely to injure yourself.
Are you jogging with a toe to heel motion, or a heel to toe motion?
From what Iâve seen, most people have no idea what proper form is for running. I was the same way until I thought to myself, âmaybe itâs not just my body being shitty.â
It helps to not think about running as taking steps, because itâs not. When you take a step, itâs basically a controlled fall. You step out and lean forward landing on your heel and rolling to the ball of your foot
Running is pretty much the opposite. Youâre pushing yourself forward with whatâs basically a small jump. You want your feet to start off nearly directly below your hips, push off with the ball of your foot, and land on the ball of your other foot with your heel off the ground, as close to under your hips as you can.
Itâs hard to explain the full movement through text, so Iâll leave this video about it https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=entUXhcgt3c
But once I changed my form, even my old meniscus injury doesnât hurt.
Ever seen a runner smiling? Me neither.
I actually thought of that meme when I posted this, was wondering if anyone would pull it out :)
No but I see them casually having conversations while running with their friends annd that seems like magic to me. I get embarrassed at how I breathe after a flight of stairs or if I have to hurry a little crossing the street.
Yeah, I hear ya. Any cardio exercise helps with that though. I like to hike on local trails at a brisk pace and Iâm in a decent place there (not running any 10Ks though)
A work friend and I run a 5k twice a week at lunch. There is something therapeutic that happens when you jog with a friend at a casual pace. You canât look each other in the eye so you say a lot of things that youâd normally be uncomfortable talking about.
Itâs probably very dependent of your current physical status but trust me at some point it will be like being on a machine moving you through the environment. You will stop feeling anything about it, much like walking, standing or sitting.
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Which ones might those be? Iâve got Fitbit and Google fit workouts but neither of those have that feature. So far Iâve just been jogging until I canât and then walking for a good 2 minutes before I start again
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Nah itâs mostly a smart watch with Fitbit capabilities, and yeah itâs tragic, google literally crippled Fitbit devices when they bought them so that pixel devices would sell. Like actually removed basic functionality.
Garmin. Theyâre the best ones.
You just start to like that feeling.
Iâd consider doing a Couch to 10k program.
A good program will build your capacity without crushing you. When I did mine, the first two weeks of the program felt laughably light. But I built the ability to run 10k, and half-marathons.
But it was building capacity, and not training for maximal stress per run.
2nd this program. It eases you into building the habit. I also think 30 mins twice a week is a bit rough to start. I would start with shorter but more frequent runs. This is how the program is designed too.
It took a few weeks for me. You may just need to slow your pace. I do it more by distance than by speed.
I dont run anymore, but when I did, I intently focused on my breathing to keep it slow and stable, even if I was dying. I was never a fast runner, short legs didnt help, but, I could go for awhile after some time.
Donât push yourself too much, its better to run a while then walk and repeat. Getting in shape is a slow process.
Well. When do you think youâll die?
Maybe never. Some other people also wrote it. But I think only this is not the whole truth: For me I am now running for 2.5 years and I never really stopped feeling like im dying, but I improved over time, so now i am really fast while feeling dead. And you will probably also learn to like this feeling of dying because it shows you you have done something.
Also, yeah there is running in Zone2 for everyone, and thats probably something you should try.
Start at either or slower pace or shorter time and gradually increase pace and/or intensity.
Technically speaking, the suffering will stop when you die
How long have you been doing it? I remember when I was first getting into running and struggling like this.
I forget how much time it was, but within a year, I was running a 5k at least twice a week. In addition to that, I ran 8k twice, but that was pretty intense and I had a lot of pain after doing that. So, I stopped doing that.
What I am trying to say is just keep with it and if you are running a pace that causes you breath so heavy. that you canât talk, then slow down your pace.
30 minutes
I mean how long have you been running 30 minutes twice a week?
30 minutes each time
Are you trolling?
when you start doing it every day, even just going for a 30 min walk will help
Could be never. After 2 years of trying to get fit again after having Covid it turned out I have Post Exertional Malaise and exercise literally damages my body.
Omg I hope my daughter never discovers this condition exists
Runner who has done a marathon here, I think the wall your hitting is when your body is switching gears from warm-up to cardio. Everyone is suggesting the couch-to-5/10k programs and that may help. I would suggest pushing your time spent running a bit further, more time doing cardio should improve things.
I just restarted my long-run training for the year (because its not cold outside anymore, and I want to run a race this year, its been a bit) and just passed that point where I can just go without having to take walking breaks on my âdefault loopâ.
Also goals, having something to look forward to or to work towards helps a lot. Keep up the good work.
Ah, but the dying feeling isnât because of your jogging, thatâs just what it feels like to be alive right now (and probably any other time).
It doesnât. You just run faster.
It takes a while for all the support muscles to strengthen. Once the body pain stops or at least is manageable the best way to improve your heartâs ability to keep up on the run is to interval train. It sucks but itâs worth it to pick up speed and stamina.
Oh yeah; do a good stretch before and after the bulk of your run. Focus on the areas that are most sore after youâre done. I have plantar fasciitis and tight hips so I do a ton of hip and calf stretches once Iâm warmed up, and when Iâm cooling down.
Thereâs a lot of factors, itâs a matter of training your body to get used to the effort. I used to jog a lot myself, beginning it sucked, after a month or two the happy chemicals started working that made it feel good. Add in going out on beautiful days as well and seeing nature helps as well. Itâs easier to do it here in the spring and autumn months because the weather is much more agreeable.
If I had to guess, youâre in need of building up your aerobic base. To do this youâre going to want to aim for having more time on your feet, which of course is tricky since it feels so heavy for you at the moment (Iâve been there).
The key insight for me was that I needed to decrease my intensity during runs. 80% of your runs should be at an easy pace, which is defined as a rate of perceived exertion (RPE) of 4/10 or less.
When I started adopting this, it felt like I was running at an annoyingly slow pace. For some people, it might even mean that you donât run continuously during your sessions, and instead do a mix of running and walking (X minutes on, X minutes off).
How old are you. My unathletic 25 year old body could get used to running in 2 weeks. In my late 30s I think itâs at least twice that.
Id recommend cardio every day if you can. Just walk on the other days. Getting your heart used to the work is the biggest issue for me.
Just turned 30
If you just want to do some exercising, try this program.
Starts very slow, increases at your own pace. The only things you need are a stop watch and enough room to do jumping jacks and pushups.
https://leisureguy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/rcaf_xbx_5bx_exercise_plans_text.pdf
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iax2XRbP9zc
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You were probably consistently training too hard.
Basically, if you say you always felt like you were dying, you were almost certainly always engaging your anaerobic system. This is the kind of running that âfeels like trainingâ, because our physical culture has conditioned us to believe that all progress requires suffering. But this zone goes by the name âblack hole trainingâ for a reason - it beats you up enough that you canât get the volume in for further aerobic adaptation, while simultaneously not sufficiently taxing your aerobic system to create sustainable gains. Runners who follow a scientific training approach spend 90% of their time below the anaerobic threshold, running at a comfortable conversational / nose breathing pace. If you canât sustain running while nose breathing, then just walking, power walking, or using a walk-run protocol is preferred to simply trying to push through.
Meanwhile, it is also possible that you would have benefitted from heavy lifting or sprint work. Efficient runners bounce, rather than slog. The rely more on muscle stiffness and tendon elasticity to propel them forward, instead of relying on muscle contraction. The stiffness and coordination required is created by having a solid core (so the snap doesnât wiggle out) and exerting maximum force.
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I donât know if anyone else has said, but just be careful not to trigger rhabdomyolysis.
Thatâs true for any decent workout, not running in particular. You canât be âcareful not to trigger itâ because your body decides whether or not it happens. You can get it on your 10th workout or your first.
Jogging for 60 minutes a week is highly unlikely to cause rhabdo.
Start off slower, pace yourself, and also maybe supplement with something else thatâs low impact like bicycling or swimming (both can be great cardio). Donât forget to add strength training days and rest days too.
Eating right and getting adequate sleep is also going to help a lot.
I second eating right. I recommend as little as a latte before a run with a protein drink after. Oh, and asics novablasts are great running shoes
Just remember not to go overboard on the protein: Check your weight, age, and activity level to determine how much protein you should actually have (somewhere between 10% to 35% of your total calories). Too much or too little can have bad outcomes.
https://www.calculator.net/protein-calculator.html
Do not forget to eat a bit healthier. And I would recommend against alcohol and smoking. Those things make the run feel more like dying. And it will take some weeks at the least. Donât give up, youâre doing great :)
Yeah Iâll admit I drink a fair amount, It definitely doesnât put me in a running mood the days Iâve actually had some the night before
I know youâve mentioned having a fitbit. Years ago I had a hand me down and it gave me insight into my sleep that was invaluable. Fast forward, got back into running for the fifth or so time in my life - a few Garmin watches later, and made a conscious choice post covid to stop making myself miserable through alcohol. I still enjoy a drink here and there but it is absolutely stunning how bad one or two drinks will screw up your sleep - and at that point it is a good night but the entire next day is garbage. Short version of this was meant to say - get good sleep tracking and it may open your eyes a bit and help you focus on your goals. I go to bed much earlier than I used to (9pm feels late now) and target 8 hours of quality sleep - especially on nights before runs, which now is every two days unless I have an event - like a concert or something - that wipes me out.
It might be the ground causing issues. Are you running outside? Have you tried a treadmill? They have lower impact.
If youâre training right it never gets any easier, but you do get faster.
Having said that, most people when they first start canât run slow enough to maintain a stable aerobic heart rate. The solution is alternating run / walk, building up to progressively more running between walk breaks.
As an example, right now I can maintain 11:00 mi / mile at, my threshold heart rate, where I can maintain a conversation, and feel like I can keep going indefinitely. So I run 80% of my runs at that speed, and the rest at faster speeds over shorter distances. Great.
But 2 years ago when I restarted running after a break, my aerobic pace was more than 13:00 / mile. Thatâs a problem because at that speed I canât physically maintain the running mechanic. It breaks down. So the only options are to run faster than optimal, which means youâre not getting aerobic training (instead itâs anaerobic training); or to slow down into the walking mechanic.
Research suggests that slow running in the aerobic zone is the key to improving aerobic pace and endurance. And if that aerobic pace is not possible because of mechanics, then alternating run / walk is a good way to average out the heart rate.
Stop feeling like you are dying? That is the wrong attitude. You need to say you like dying actually! You will show them, you will show them all true dying! Then run hard, and die harder!
Some months later, you will ask âwhy am I not dying!?! This does not feel like dying at all!â, and then you will run for longer and faster, hoping to feel like you are dying again.
EDIT: Knowing your VO2 max helps, carbomaxxing before running is also a good idea.
this is exactly why I donât do it. I can walk at a pace that is almost faster than I can jog foever but the moment I start having both feet off the ground at once I canât breathe. I kinda have the same problem with swimming a front crawl. I just canât get the cadence right and end up inhaling water. I do believe the key may be in your breathing rythm vs your physical movements based on my own ineptness. Take that for what you will.
Is it possible you have mild asthma? This kind of sounds like how I was when I was a kid and they found out I just needed an inhaler
my sisters actually do have excersise induced but I tried to get it checked out at one point and it just kinda fell off the radar. Partially because im fine not jogging. I like walking and biking. I sorta hate excersie just to excersise and like to have it come while doing other things. I really wanted a row bike at one point and was kinda bummed it fell apart as a thing.
Iâm in my early 60s and went from walking to jogging a couple years ago. I did it differently than you. My usual walk was about two miles, and I just started jogging the portion I could and walking the rest. At first, my jogging was only a couple blocks, but as I kept doing it, I got to be able to go further, a little at a time. My goal was really just to keep my heart rate up for 20 to 30 minutes and get some cardio.
So Iâm there now. I jog a couple miles every other day. Takes me about 25 minutes, so Iâm not breaking any speed records, but my heart rate is between 150 and 170 for much of it, so I feel like Iâm meeting my goal.
It wonât. At least not with that approach. You need to strengthen your feet and tendons. I know, youâre fit and you lift. But consider that a typical pace will have each foot hitting the ground 70-90 times a minute. Even at the lower end thats over 2000 foot strikes per side during your run. That will do damage so you need to work up to it.
Try 30 minutes of running for 2 minutes and walking for 1 three times a week. Every week increase the run by a minute. By the time you reach 8:1 you can choose to not stop. Pace should be easy, lime you can maintain a conversation.
After you can run for 30 minutes continuously 3 times a week without felling like death, you can get fancy with the training protocol. But the early weeks are the toughest because you feel like you can do more, but you should absolutely not.
It takes me a solid 2-3 weeks to get over the muscles adapting and lungs acclimating. So in like 6 solid runs
It took me about three months to actually enjoy jogging. My fitness came faster but it was still a chore.
Dude I have been running for years. Some months I do 4 to 5 days a week and others only 3. I do 5ks and 10ks and would like to do a half marathon. I have stated biking a few days a week. While I time has improved it is hell for me to get under a 15 min mile consistently. It hurts when I start and I am hurting when I finish. Yes I smoked for about 20 years and I have been quit for a long time. I am 63 and I feel like this is as good as I am going to get. But you know what? I am going to keep going because if I donât I will get fat and die. So keep pushing.
Back when I started running (and it sounds like I was in worse shape than you) Iâd do 30 minutes, but strictly regimented times - jog for one minute, walk for one minute. Then 1.5/1.5, 2/2, etc. I think around 5 the break time froze, but the jog time increased. Eventually I found I didnât need the whole break and started decreasing it.
Following that pattern, I think it took a month or so for 30 without pain. Then comes increasing the speed, aiming for distance instead of time.
Maybe a few months in?
Watch movies and TV while on the treadmill.
Depends on age but it takes me 45 mins to warm up and not feel the pain.
Longer rest periods seem to help me a lot. Iâll be at the gym for a month or two consistently then take a week off. I always come back stronger and with more endurance.
You definitely need to be consistent to keep progressing but take breaks too. Just donât make one week off turn into 2+ weeks off.
I donât think 2 x a week is a good workout. I seem to recall reading somewhere that strenuous 2 x week workouts can be stressful on the body vs how much benefit it offers. Note: twice weekly modest workouts are very helpful.
Try reducing the length of the run and/or substituting fast walk warmup and cooldowns, and adding a gym or some other workout to bring it up to 3x workouts in a week.