running through the pain barrier

[mintpoppet]

I've ran for about a year. I'm not very good at pushing myself and making myself hurt/tire for a good time. How do I overcome this obstacle. I want to do a10k pb. Due to weight I am still run walking but want to be faster.

[BlueChampagne]

Can you make your run sections longer, even if you say to yourself 10 more paces, then I'll walk? Or can you make sure you march on the walking sections, if you tend to collapse. Rome wasn't built in a day, just keep nudging on in small increments. And come back to tell us how you're doing!

[mintpoppet]

Thanks. Will do.

[pootlebug]

Do you pre-determine how long your run sections will be? I think you need a plan, so that you gradually increase the run sections over time. And then just stick to it religiously….however tempting it is to stop 10 seconds early or whatever just power on through.

You'll feel so much better at the end of your workout if you stick to the plan than if you wimp out and slow down.

I also find a running watch invaluable for checking the pace that I'm running at is the one I want to be at….but they're not cheap so it depends how much running you do I guess as to whether it is worth it.

FWIW I don't think it ever necessarily gets easier if you push yourself harder as you get fitter - but the satisfaction feeling at the end is still great.!

[mintpoppet]

I do have a running watch but it very much depends on how I'm feeling as to when I walk. I do give up too easily though. I particularly find the first mile hard and often walk after about half mile. At a ridiculously slow pace I can run 5k or a little further but I can walk faster than the times I do if I alow down to run further iyswim.

[chutneypig]

For me I find a plan helps and I have it on my phone to to help me stick to it. For. 5k this morning I promsied myself I wouldn't walk until 3k and then did the next two k with twenty second walking and two minutes running. I did much better than last week when I left myself to my own devices.

[mintpoppet]

Of. Maybe I'll give that a shot. What would be a good plan (that I can remember while running) to do a 10k.

[pootlebug]

You probably need to change the plan as you go, to improve your fitness. Doing the same thing repeatedly soon slows the fitness gains.

What do you do when you go out for a run at the moment (roughly)? How much walking, how much running, for how long/far etc? Then we can come up with a plan to improve. How many times a week do you run? And when is your 10k?

[mintpoppet]

Tomorrow! I know I can't build fitness before then but need a race strategy. At the moment in a 10k I probably run about half a mile first. Then run walk another couple of miles with mainly running. Then last few miles it's about 50-50 run walk.

[pootlebug]

Ah! That's not long then.
There's a table here that might help. Basically you use your mins per mile pace to work out how much walking to do, and stick in that pattern from the start.

www.active.com/running/articles/run-walk-run-to-faster-times-faster-recovery

[mintpoppet]

Well it didn't go too well! I did finish and I wasn't last but it was SLOW!

[OhOneOhTwoOhThree]

But you were faster than everyone who stayed on their sofa this morning! A 10K is still an achievement whatever your time

[mintpoppet]

Thanks.

[lastqueenofscotland]

I just keep telling myself that the pain of keeping going is far lesser than the crushing disappointment of stopping which I find can honestly linger with me for days

[pootlebug]

Well done! As OOOTOT says - faster than everyone on the sofa.

And if you're not happy….book another one in for the autumn, and come up with a training strategy to improve. The good thing about a slow time is that it's easier to smash it next time….

[mintpoppet]

I've got a few races booked in. A 5k, two 10k and a half marathon.

[Wileycoyote]

Just stop walking. It's probably all in your head!!

[mintpoppet]

It is Wiley but easier said than done to stop walking. At first I thought it was just worry that I wouldn't finish the race if I went too hard but in that last race I didn't even push it for the last mile when I knew I could go harder .

[OhOneOhTwoOhThree]

Do you run with music? You could tell yourself that you will run after the next song, or the one after, or the one after...and keep yourself going?

[OhOneOhTwoOhThree]

I meant run until the song finishes, then the next one...

[Purplerunner]

If you are needing to walk after half a mile, you are probably going too fast? Slow and steady is the way to go. You should be at a pace where you could chat to someone without being too out of breath. Especially if you are aiming for a half marathon.

I try not to have a walk break if possible, because once I have had one, I just want more and more!

[Thistledew]

It might help if you remember that everyone gets the urge to stop running shortly after they set off. That bit between when your body starts to feel the effects of working hard (heart rate and breathing are elevated) and the point at which you are properly warmed up is always the hardest. I really notice the point at which I am warmed up as everything suddenly becomes easier and I realise that in fact I can keep going, no matter how rubbish I felt to start with. Do you notice your warm up point?

I have recently gone back to run walk intervals to rehabilitate an injury and make adjustments to my running technique and I have found that I don't get passed the point that things start to become easier.

Secondly, much of your desire to walk will be psychological rather than physical. Making yourself run 10, then 15 , then 20 steps past the point where you want to stop will help you deal with this mindset. Running to a set schedule of time or distance would really benefit you. Do you have a friend you could run with? A bit of competitiveness may spur you on.

Thirdly, you mention your weight as a factor making it difficult for you to run. Carrying excess weight will do nothing to help your speed, but it absolutely is not a barrier to you increasing your fitness and being able to run further. There is no reason at all that you cannot increase your fitness so that you can run the distances you wish.

Fourthly, keep it up! 10k is a decent distance and you are probably much fitter than you give yourself credit for.

[mintpoppet]

Surely at 5 stone overweight that DOES effect being able to run further too. If I slow right down I can run further, much further but I can actually walk faster. Literally and not exaggerating!

[OhOneOhTwoOhThree]

That's a really good point Thistledew. I think it's supposed to take 10 minutes for the body to get into balance to be able to run effectively - I found a really good article about the science of it all a year or two ago but didn't bookmark it and was never able to find it again. I found this on a runner's world forum which explains it in a nutshell.

"When you start to run your muscles need extra oxygen but your body is not set up to increase the supply immediately. For the first few minutes of a race [or any run] you develop oxygen debt as you use more energy than aerobic systems can supply. It is only when oxygen in the blood has been depleated significantly and levels of carbon dioxide have risen that your brain senses these changes and sends instructions to set things straight. At that point you will begin to breathe harder and your heart will pump more strongly. But by then , besides having to meet the demands of your continued movement, you also have to repay the oxygen debt and clear the lactic acid that has accumulated. This takes time, and so the first couple of miles of any run can be rough."

[Thistledew]

You would have to be fitter to run 10k with excess weight than if you did not have that weight, but being overweight is no barrier to increasing your fitness.

[indigoteeshirt]

and perhaps nudging yourself to the other side of the pain barrier will develop the mind set required for making 'healthy' around food (speaking also as someone who needs to lose weight.) so you're in a win-win situation.

love the motivating comment - faster than the person on the couch