Taking up running for the first time.

M

Mentat

0
Hi all,

This is my first real post outside of the introductions forum!

Basically I've decided now is the time to lose my gut and rebuild the good cardio-vascular strength I had back at school, after years of laziness and binge drinking at university.

I'm not setting myself any stupidly high goals at this stage, as I'll just scare myself off if I don't get instant success.

My first decision was that I'm going to take up jogging/running. I find I often get lethargic through the day in my office job, so a perk me up in the morning should help my focus increase as well.

So... my question...

How much should I run in the morning? Should I be getting quite tired from the run or should I stop before I'm starting to feel the burn?
 
Mentat said:
Hi all,

This is my first real post outside of the introductions forum!

Basically I've decided now is the time to lose my gut and rebuild the good cardio-vascular strength I had back at school, after years of laziness and binge drinking at university.

I'm not setting myself any stupidly high goals at this stage, as I'll just scare myself off if I don't get instant success.

My first decision was that I'm going to take up jogging/running. I find I often get lethargic through the day in my office job, so a perk me up in the morning should help my focus increase as well.

So... my question...

How much should I run in the morning? Should I be getting quite tired from the run or should I stop before I'm starting to feel the burn?
Click to expand...

depends on where you feel the burn.

the first thing you shgould do is get soem decent shoes.

then give us an idea how far and how fast you are running.

you will only feel tired after your run if you are stopping before getting a good heart rate established.

tunning will almost always leave you pumped feeling.

Sweat Daily!
FF
 
I'm one step ahead of you, I've already been to the local fitness store and had myself fitted with a pair of good Adidas running shoes.

I generally feel the tiredness in my cardio first, though my legs do start turning to lead if I try to press on. I'm only starting at at a brisk jogging pace at the moment, and aiming to start off on distances of around a mile and work my way up.
 
Hey Mentat!

Shoes are really important, sounds like you have that in place. Start off with a walk going to a fast walk and then break into a jog. Sort of warm your muscles up a bit. And do a little stretching after the run. Sometimes you start to feel like "ok, I want to quit. I've gone far enough" early on, and sometimes if you push through that, you find you can just keep going. But like you said, don't start off with anything crazy!! Build slowly and you should be fine.
 
Mentat said:
I generally feel the tiredness in my cardio first, though my legs do start turning to lead if I try to press on. I'm only starting at at a brisk jogging pace at the moment, and aiming to start off on distances of around a mile and work my way up.
Click to expand...

Do you have a heart rate monitor? If you do, you may want to make sure that you always stay in the aerobic zone (under 80% of maximum) unless you are specifically trying to do sprint or high intensity intervals (which are typically done at as high an intensity as you can in order to get the most benefit of the interval training). As you get better, the same intensity should result in increasing speeds.
 
No, I don't have a heart rate monitor. What is a good one to get, assuming they are essential? I don't have a lot of spare cash to spend.

When I was younger, my cardio was fantastic. I could literally outlast the football (soccer) players in fitness tests, even though I wasn't training like them. I believe that getting my activity up and a moderate adjustment of my diet could see me lose my excess weight and tone up, which is all I look to achieve. I have a very slight frame and am not looking to add muscle at all.
 
when you say, "feel it in my cardio"

what do you mean? burning lungs? (cold air) or runaway heart beat? or out of breath?
 
Mentat said:
No, I don't have a heart rate monitor. What is a good one to get, assuming they are essential? I don't have a lot of spare cash to spend.
Click to expand...

A heart rate monitor is not essential, but makes measuring your heart rate easier. If you do not have one, you can take your pulse for 15 seconds immediately after you stop running and multiply by 4. If the result is more than 80% of (220 - age), then you are probably exercising anaerobically, which means that you won't have much endurance.

Exercising in the anaerobic zone can be useful to train for sprints (look up "HIIT" or high intensity interval training), but trying to go long at that intensity will likely lead to disappointment.
 
Mentat said:
Burning lungs and not really able to keep my breath as I jog/run.
Click to expand...

OK.

With the time of year it is, you are probably runnin in cold air. If the air is below 40 degrees it may help a bit to put a scarf around your mouth. I do it and it helps me to breath slower. When the cold air goes into those warm lungs it can make you feel quite winded.

Also try breathing thru your nose some of the time. If your nose is running, do not snort and drink snot the hole time, blow it out. Yes, it is gross and messy, but your body is reacting to a change you are making in breathing.

Another common problem in breathing is holding your gut in. You are out there running and you wan tto look all cool so you suck it in. stop that! it is limiting your lung capacity.

Lastly- realize you are developing breath, and push yourself a bit. Feel it man! it is good for you.

think about other things, like your legs, arms, shoulders. they are the next to start hurting---hahhaha

I just notice that whatever I focus on in my run, becomes why i should stop ;)

the sooner you get to a point of focusing on things outside of yourself, the sooner your run becomes more and more enjoyable.

Good for you.

Stay with it!

Sweat Daily!

FF
 
Sometimes timing your breath with your running cadence helps also. When I start getting funky with my breathing I slow it down to the beat of my feet hitting the pavement. I generally run breathing in for 3 beats of my feet, out for 3. It helps at the beginning of a run when I have that initial breathlessness and also during parts where I'm just getting dog tired.

Hadn't thought of the scarf idea but thats a good one!

People everywhere run in the freezing cold and initially your lungs hate you for it, but they DO get acclamated to the chill-if thats what's causing the burning. You ARE allowed to slow down too :) If you become unable to get into a rhythm with your breathing and your lungs are on fire slow it to a very slow trot or a fast walk until you can get it back under control. My husband has recently gotten back to running also and he began with alternating jogging a telephone pole, walking one for 4 miles. Then he started eliminating some of those walk parts until he's now jogging the whole thing. Its a process. good job on taking up running!
 
Hi all, I'm in roughly the same situation as the poster. I'm 32 with a dusty treadmill and elliptical trainer in my basement. It's about 20 degrees right now so outside is out of the question.

I'd like to get up to the point where i can eventually jog for 3 miles.

Right now I've been doing my treadmill at full incline, walking at 3mph. This puts my heart rate at about 150 and I can do this for 30 minutes straight with some difficulty, but I'm not out of breath and I can make it through.

The question is, should I even bother with mixing in short jogging intervals? Or should I wait until I can do the above workout without being above my target heart rate zone?

Lastly, can I prepare my lungs for jogging by just doing these fast walks to prevent the "burn". The burnt out lungs is what generally kills my desire to jog.

Thanks in advance
 
One thing you should definitely do is have a checkup. If you've been sedentary for several years, especially depending upon your diet, you should get clearance by a good physician. Heart problems can creep up on you in such situations and can manifest themselves with a vengeance once you increase the strain on the heart muscle.

Start out slow, warm up by walking, and jog for time, not distance. Start out with running mixed with walking, and try to gradually increase the running period while decreasing the walking. For cold weather some good tips have already been suggested. I used to wear one of those ski-masks that you can pull up to cover your mouth. Breathing through your nose gives cold air a chance to warm up before entering the lungs, but most runners are breathing through their mouths out of necessity. A barrier, such as a scarf or ski mask is warmed up by the breath that is exhaled, so that the next inhalation is warmed by the already warmed barrier. Stretch after completing your run. I also recommend books by Arthur Lydiard and Joe Henderson on the subject of running.

(I was once an assistant high-school track coach and did a lot of long distance running myself. I know this stuff through experience. I hope I've helped.)
 
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