I've never been able to run a mile.

[Xsas]

Today I started my workout program, and it starts off with running/jogging a mile. I couldn't do this without stopping to walk for a break, and I thought I was out of shape. I started to think back, and I realized I've always been short winded and never really ran/jogged a whole mile straight.

I'm making it my goal to be able to run a mile now.

I did track, but I always did sprints so I never got wind there, and In lacrosse i played goalie.

[apeman]

good luck!

I found interval training quite useful, where you run 10 secs and walk for 10 secs for example, and can adjust periods of running and walking as you get fitter

or get the aerobic/cardio fitness from something gentler, like a bike.

let us know how it goes

[almostaugust]

Good on you.

Take it easy. Do the slowest possible run you can. Then with patience, slowly increase. Honestly, you will be running it in no time.

[onetime2]

What causes you to stop? Is it purely shortness of breath? Is it muscle fatigue/tightening? Perhaps a combination of both?

If it's shortness of breath, you need to regulate your breathing more. Try inhaling over the course of four steps (or so) and exhaling over the course of two steps (or so). Singing or even talking helps as well. That's one of the reasons the military uses jodies.

If it's tightness of muscles as well, stretching helps immensely.

[Xsas]

It's the shortness of breath, I've never been able to run long enough to get tight muscles!

[G5_Todd]

asma?.....

i would contact a sport doctor....have him put u thru a stress test on treadmill

[onetime2]

Originally posted by G5_Todd
asma?.....

i would contact a sport doctor....have him put u thru a stress test on treadmill

Definitely a good approach.

[Grondar]

Also, if you are using an electric treadmill or anything to run, don't look at the little distance number climb up.

It goes so slowly, you may lose hope and give up before your body is ready.

I have found this to be the case with working out in general. If you set out to do 15 reps, you will start to tire at 12, even if your body can do more..

A lot of this can be mental.

So I would recommend being careful about setting goals and watching them too closely.

Setting goals is fine, but just don't get too tied up in how close you are to reaching the goal, because then you might give up before your body normally would.

Take care.

[skier]

Kind of like an experiment I saw once. They had different groups hold their hands in ice water- the first group was told the average time was 15 seconds, the second 30 seconds, the third 2 whole minutes.

Average time for the first group was 19.5 seconds. Average time for the second group was 40.6 seconds. The average time for the third group was 1 minutes and 45 seconds.

Pain is so much a mental game. You can accomplish a lot more setting up unrealistically high goals for yourself (as long as you don't mind failure). A "realistic" goal is often too low.

[apeman]

a system i use is to wait until I'm almost beat and then say "I will carry on for at least another X seconds"

as skier says, you can often take different amounts of pain depending on your expectations. Fatigue is also quite dependant on psychological factors. At the end of the day, being able to do something like run a mile needs both physical fitness and a certain amount of belief.

Lots of people stop running after a certain distance and say "I can't go any further!" when what they mean is "It's starting to hurt now" - I know I do ...

[onetime2]

Originally posted by apeman
Lots of people stop running after a certain distance and say "I can't go any further!" when what they mean is "It's starting to hurt now" - I know I do ...

Yep, that's what I was trying to get at but you expressed it far better. If there are no real physical issues (asthma, emphysema, heart disease, etc) running is at least 90% mental. When you think you can't go on, you can. When you're about to stop, when you're thinking "I'm done, I can't go any farther", try breaking into a sprint like a car is about to hit you. You'll be amazed that you do have some reserve. The more you try the more you'll be able to tap into it and the closer you'll get to a continuous mile.

[apeman]

thanks ... another good example is running past girls, it's amazing what extra energy you can find

[Grondar]

Originally posted by apeman
thanks ... another good example is running past girls, it's amazing what extra energy you can find

Yea, this is true.

When I go running outside and am coming up on a group of people I compose myself and stop gasping so that I don't look like I am about to keel over.

Then as soon as I pass them, the huffing and puffing resumes.

[onetime2]

Originally posted by apeman
thanks ... another good example is running past girls, it's amazing what extra energy you can find

Past them? I usually just trot along behind.

[Finchie]

Like some others suggested, go see a doctor. I was never able to run a mile until I got an inhaler for exercise induced asthma.

[WarWagon]

I tried it, but having athsma and a cigarette hanging out of your mouth don't make things easy.

[Speed_Gibson]

last time I ran that kind of distance was the semi-annual 1.5 mile run for the Navy PT thing; the required time escapes my memory now but I always did a decent at it.
Not sure how I would do now but would be good to try; just not sure how my knees would behave on some days, especially when there is varying amounts of discomfort/limping just walking.

[heccubusiv]

from experience it takes a lot of pratice, i had to run a lot of miles before i finished my first one with out stopping, and after that you build confidence and find your second win. after the first one it gets easier

[Xsas]

Holy shit, I almost did it today, got like .8 of the way. I was proud.

[la petite moi]

ROCK ON.

[onetime2]

Originally posted by Xsas
Holy shit, I almost did it today, got like .8 of the way. I was proud.

Congrats! Did you do anything differently to achieve it?

[apeman]

nice one!

- it's practice I suspect

[teph]

Well done - you're getting there. How often are you running?

That's something that I'm running into right now. I run in between my strength-training days, and I'm really concerned with my schedule. It always depends for me on whether it's the middle of the day or late at night (I'm always outside), and the humidity can get to me at times, as well.

A little story:

About seven years ago, I couldn't go a mile. I would start out running and tire out very early on in the run. Never quite figured out what was going on - I was very physically active, played tennis at least once a day, and was in pretty good shape. I think the most likely candidate was the pace that I set for myself. At any rate, I put the mile down for a while and came back to it three years later with a larger group than before (an entire class versus those trying out for the tennis team) and I trained for a bit and beat every one of them with a 5:16. Got no idea what time I run one now, but that was a good day.

As others have said, though, a lot of it for me is mental. I run from my house to a track, and I just go until I think I'm too winded to go on any farther. Then I go another lap and sprint through the back stretch. Then I stop, stretch, grab some water, and walk/run home. Once I reach that mental limitation, the best way to push past it for me is to just forget the pain and extremely heavy breathing and go until I just. can't. go. any. farther. It doesn't feel particularly good physically, but the mental kick is more than worth it.

Keep us posted.

[Xsas]

Trying to run everyday.

Was going to run today, but I had PC problems that have needed my attention since I got off of work, and tomorrow I have Martial Arts training!

[giantpizzaman]

its true, running is almost purely mental. but i found the way i am able to continue is by taking things a little at a time.
in high school i was forced to do 12 minute runs, where you had to run 12 minutes and record how many laps you could do. when you look at it beforehand, it seems a daunting task that is next to impossible. But if you take each minute at a time and set little goals for yourself, before you know it you have 1 minute left and you find yourself sprinting

moral of the story/my advice: break down your mile bit by bit, focus on running for another minute... another minute... and before you know it BOOM! 1 mile

[Grondar]

Running is definitely mental.

When it's nice out I run a nature trail that goes through the woods, past some nice houses, and it's really nice. The trail ends at a busy road/parking lot.. And seeing that I park at the other end, it requires running to the lot, and back.

It's interesting.. I used to assume I needed to stop for a break (walk for a few) when I hit the mid-way point, but lately I've started to get to the lot and turn around and just keep running. Turns out, I didn't really need to walk at all, and could just jog a little slower pace.

Granted, a lot of this depends on how tired you are when you get going, but it's certainly very mental as well.

I like running a lot because it really kicks your ass, gets you fatigued, breathing heavy, and beat, and while that kind of sucks, it's also great because it's just a good feeling to know you are doing excersize that is fatiguing enough to do that. And later, after you can breathe normally again, it feels great!

I find the hardest part of running/working out, is getting there. After I get there (trail, gym, whatever), I find that I have no trouble "getting going." But it certainly is an effort to get off my ass and go sometimes. Realistically, I'd rather sit here and listen to Murphy Lee and browse the TFP, but ultimately, I know that running is going to be just as beneficial..

Also, one last comment on the mental thing.. I worked yesterday till about 9:00 PM, was kind of beat/bored/tired, etc. But then I came home, ate some supper, and decided to go running around the neighborhood at 11:00 PM. I had already run earlier in the day at the trail I mentioned above.. And I was actually surprised to find that I could run a good distance at a reasonable pace without dying.. Especially given the fact that at work, I was bored/tired. But clearly, a different kind of tired.

Anyway, that was a lot of words.. I'd say that the mental aspect has just as much (or even more) influence as the phyiscal, because in order to get to the physical part, you have to be mentally prepared for it. And while doing the phyiscal part, you can't let the mental part take over, or you will stop before you've truly reached your physical limitations.

Take care.

[sailor]

Originally posted by skier
Pain is so much a mental game. You can accomplish a lot more setting up unrealistically high goals for yourself (as long as you don't mind failure). A "realistic" goal is often too low.

I think thats a big part of it. Your body can go a <i>hell</i> of a lot farther than you think it can, its just a matter of being able to put down that voice telling you to stop.

All endurance sports are primarily mental games. Its all about being able to put the pain out of your mind and keep going through it. After a while, it becomes second nature.

[TopRamen66]

Running is definately mental. I used to run late at night after I got off work. I'd always run the same place, and I knew the distances. It was 2.5 miles each way, but I would only be able to run about a mile of that each way, and felt I couldnt run the whole thing. One night right when I turn around, with the full 2.5 miles back, a dog started chasing me! It gave up after a while, but I still hauled ass ALL the way back!

PS: This is just a ramble, the thread starter is banned anyway...

[nukeu666]

i started running few days ago...
problem is that my legs tire out within 10 mins...i have no problem with breath
what am i doing wrong?

[yippiekiyeh]

I would definitely agree with everyone else that running is mentally challenging. It's like the first time I was able to run a mile. Great feeling, it gives you confidence to pull it off a second time. (I just did this last week, I can run a mile this time). It also helps you focus. So the next time you run and you begin to get tired at about .5 of a mile, you can think, hey I can run to .8 got to stay focused! And when .8 starts rolling around you focus on .81, then .82, then .83. Next thing you know bingo you've run a mile! Congratz!

[apeman]

nukeu how's it going now? it's gonna take at least a few weeks for your legs to get used to it, so just do short runs to start with and build up the distance gradually

so mental and physical go together, think about them both. e.g. if you are expecting to get tired after 10 mins that won't help, but if your legs aren't yet strong enough then you will get tired after 10

for biking certainly, doing some leg work in the gym helps (I'm talking about anaerobic here) - not too much, but a little will give your more strength and more confidence. always warm up and down with a quick jog or similar

[Vizzini]

Every year there is something called the Vancouver Sun run up here. It is a 10k (about 6.2miles) run in April. Last December I decided I was going to do this even though I could not run more than 5 mins without huffing real bad.

This is what I started off with and I highly recomend it:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Finished the 10k in under an hour too.

[mrbuck12000]

Running is something that i have taken up in the last couple of years. i feel real good after i run, but one thing i try to do is run a race here and there like vizzini mentioned. my goal this summer was to try and run 3 races: 5 mile, 10k(6.2 mile) and then a half marathon. it really helps me keep going. i need the goals. then each race i have goals...the 5 mile i wanted to do under 40 mins and i did it in 38, this weekend i will run a 10k and my goal is under an hour. it takes a lot of time though, from when i come home from work, i will kill about and 2 hours, with stretching the run, usually 3-6 miles and then stretching again, then shower.
anyway..i think goals are good. i have tried mixing in a bike workout, but thats more time.
ramble on....
mr b

[mrbuck12000]

Follow-up here. I ran my 10K this weekend and hit my goal minus 15 minutes....45 minutes and 30 sec. took 30th overall out of 300. WOOOO WEEEEEE!!!!

on to the next one.

mr b