Entered a 10K - really don’t think I can do it

[MilkshakeMonkey]

I started doing HIIT with a personal trainer in September and have done really well! I like the idea of running and started C25k. So at the start of December I entered a 10K for the end of February. The week after I had a mental meltdown on a run and lost my confidence.
I have been for 2 short runs (like half a mile) since start of January and I find them so hard. Breathing and I’m slow.Am I seriously going to be able to run 10K in 8 weeks??? Every training plan I find is for longer. I would love to achieve the medal, it would be such an achievement. I just don’t see how???
Any MN help appreciated

I would agree with the advice to take it slowly. Very slowly if you need to. Try to go at a speed where you could hold a conversation, even if that means you feel you could walk faster than you're jogging.

This podcast is good for getting you from 5k to 10k (do a few of the Couch to 5k runs if you need to first).

The running as slowly as you can thing really works and you will just naturally get faster. I run a 5k in 28 minutes now and I was at the 45 minute mark when I started.
I don’t run for time though it’s the easiest way to suck all the fun out if it.

Disclaimer - I've only done the first couple of runs with the podcast I linked to, as I switched to an app so I could play my own music, but they seemed very straightforward.

A proper runner told me that everyone feels uncomfortable with breathing and moving for the first couple of kms, that you need to get into a rhythm and then it feels better. My problem was that I always stopped before I got into the zone!!!

I'm a seriously chronic asthmatic. Almost everyone is faster than me.

I've done 5k, 10K and almost a half marathon (I ran twelve miles in training but had a sodding asthma attack a day later meaning I couldn't enter the event)

The secret is to make running a habit. Try and get longer distances but just repeatedly get out there and run*

Everyone at an event has doubts. I've found they're very supportive though (especially the parkrun people)

• Of and keep a careful eye on pace. As long as your technically running it doesn't matter if you get overtaken by kids, old people, snails or super fit athletes.

Another tip: put your running gear on as soon as you get up, then you are half way to getting out for your run. Don't think about it otherwise you might not go. Just put your stuff on and go.

I started running in April 2013, having never ever run before. It took me ages and ages to actually complete about 2k without stopping and sobbing to be honest, but I made myself enter a 10k in October 2014. I think I probably cried more in the week before I did it than i ever have, bit on the day, I did it really slowly, manage to pair up with a guy who had once done marathons but had heart surgery and was taking it really slowly and came 10th from last! I absolutely didn't care because it was the biggest achievement ever. Seriously, you can do it, if you are the slowest one there you re still faster than everyone at home. Just keep doing short runs and don't worry if you have to stop and walk. It really doesn't matter

Can't you do a 5k instead?

You're doing brilliantly.

I was a HIIT exerciser/weight lifter before I took up running a year ago. I really struggled. I was running way too fast and hadn't realised that the first 1-2k is the hardest. I slowed right down and it made all the difference. I can do a 20 minute 5k now and am sub 50 minutes (aiming for 45) for a 10k.

Runners tend to be a really supportive bunch as well, no one cares how fast you go.

Congratulations for starting. Just echoing other re run slow. I hadn't run since school a few years ago and was desperate to start but I couldn't run because I had forgotten how. I was running slowly but too fast for me which meant I couldn't breathe and keep up the pace. I went running with a friend and was shocked that we were running at a pace I could comfortably walked at, but it was the pace I needed to start and my running has now evolved to the point that I am happy to run in public without the embarrassment about my speed. Not that anyone cares about your time, races are the best confidence boost, the supporters are impressed you're doing it at all and the other runners will only care about their own time and be keen to help you get started. You can do it

I went out and had a really good run!!!
I tried the ‘how slow can you go’ and breathing was loads better and I feel I could have gone further (but wanted to end positively). I ran 1.5 miles (my longest run in a long time) AND my pace was exactly the same as when I was going all out/getting sweaty!!!
Feeling positive! Thank you so much for all your advice and support. I need to ditch the competitive edge and just do it don’t I??

I did a 10k four years ago (my first and only!), and even though I was not especially fit I didn't stop running for the first 4km. I was truly amazed, would not have ever run more than 500-1000m without stopping before that day. All the people in the run were like a school of fish. We were plodding along very slowly but everyone was keeping together as a group. In fact, the second half of the run, which I mostly walked very briskly, was only 5 mins slower than the first 5km.

You can do it.

Is your goal to earn the medal by having run the distance or completed it in some way?
Both are fine but quite different.
If the former then no, I don't think you'll be ready, but (as long as you breathing is not a health issue) then a run/walk plan should be fine.

In your shoes I would be tempted to still do the race BUT remove your orig goal and treat it as a trial. Then enter another 10k in the summer.

If the latter then go for it, but TBH I think if you want to see the best health benefits you'd be better off focussing on running a whole park run, getting that time down and then ramping up the miles and training before even thinking of running a 10k.

Def so some cross training too, you will really feel the benefit if you're able to swim and work on your core. Also mixing it up might help you see what sort of exercise really suits you.

Re breathing. Focus on exhaling only, the inhaling will just follow (it's clever like that!)

@MilkshakeMonkey I experimented with breathing as I was doing all sorts before: heavy panting (and then holding my breath whenever I ran past anyone) almost hyperventilating due to taking in too much air and not exhaling. What works for me and has now - some 18 years of running later- become second nature is this:

in in out (and if you're musical ta-te ta)
Or
In in out
1 2 3,4

Does the trick. If I feel short of breath then I may take one deeper inhale. If I feel tense then I make sure my shoulders are back, eyes are forward and not towards the ground and chest is open: if you collapse your chest cavity in on itself then breathing is infinitely harder.

You can so do this, though!

Re breath control, mouth breathing is good because it allows you to take in as much oxygen as possible. The critical thing is to ensure you are breathing with your diaphragm rather than chest breathing. So focus on moving your diaphragm down each time you inhale.
Timing of breathing: if you are on a slow run, try a count of three steps breathing in, three steps breathing out. When you pick up your pace, you can aim for two steps of breathing in, two steps of breathing out. Make sure your inhalation and exhalation is a smooth, continual motion. Trust me, breathing control makes a massive difference and will allow you to run for a greater distance before getting tired.