To not be able to run…

[ManchesterBeatrice]

I'll pre-face this by saying that I have tried the couch to 5K, but that didn't work out for me.

I have full gym membership, and access to treadmills, there are plenty available.

But I just can't run!

It's almost like I feel extremely heavy when I try, I weigh 9 stone, So not carrying lots of extra weight, but I just can't get the breath right.

What am I missing? Is there some kind of secret Runner's trick! I just can't seem to run, and I'd really love to be able to, as it's such a great way to lose weight, and keep weight off Physically when I don't have access to the gym.

Can anyone share their success stories of learning to successfully run on the treadmill, and then being able to take that outside to running outdoors.

Running was never great for weight loss for me. I didn't burn enough calories. But it did tone me up. My bum and legs were in better shape for it.

Jog very slowly, a very very slow pace. You can build up to faster running in time. Start off barely doing more than a light jog.

Lol that will teach me for replying to something blearily in the morning 🙃

The thought seems to be that if you already have dodgy knees then running can make them worse, but there is no reason for running to cause dodgy knees. Unless you are running in a really odd way that puts unnatural stress on your knees.

From a purely anecdotal point - I used to row quite seriously and was super fit and very strong and flexible, but my knees were always sore from the repetitive nature of rowing. I gave up about 2 years ago and have recently taken up running (training for a half marathon) and my knees have never been in such good shape. I can do full ass to grass squats without feeling like they are going to explode.

Humans are known as the running apes. We have evolved physiologically to run.

ETA: I don't particularly like running, I feel slow and ponderous, although I can do 5k in about 26 minutes, I am still waiting for that 'flow' feeling where you just glide along effortlessly. But it is relatively cheap, you can go at your own pace and on your own timetable, and it gives me an excuse to eat more cake than I should.

@ManchesterBeatrice my botox lady says running is the quickest way to lead to a saggy face! 😱She recommends pilates and brisk walking neither of which have the gravity exacerbating impact that running does...

Man alive, I hear you OP.

I've done the C25K numerous times, each time thinking that it will be the time I become a 'runner', and can bound along in the fresh air, having witty conversations with my companions. But no. I always seem to be hauling myself along, gasping, begging for death.

I go slowly. So slowly that I'm overtaken by old ladies walking their pekes. Walkers hear me huffing and trudging behind them, and move over to let me overtake, and are then bemused as it takes five minutes for me to slowly inch past.

I have hypermobile feet and spine, and no doubt other bits, so all my energy is expended holding myself together.

I can't breathe - I don't get enough air in through my nose, so have to breathe in through my mouth which makes it dry. I couldn't possibly hold a conversation.

Once, on one run, about 12 minutes in there was a moment when it wasn't too hideous, and I thought I'd cracked it and about to experience the joy that the bouncy ponytail brigade seem to. But it was a fleeting chimera.

So I don't do it any more. It made me cry with shame.

I found 3 things to be helpful when I was doing couch25k:

Go slower.

Breathe however feels good for you (I asked ds1 how he breathed when he ran, and he looked askance at me and said 'I just breathe normally')

Try different ways of planting your foot on the ground (I noticed all kinds of foot-planting when I was out).

Having said all that- it never made me into someone who enjoyed running and kept it up. I finished the programme, did the entire 5k once and then gave up. That probably says something bad about my character but hey ho.

I like long walks, so I do that. And now I have a spiffy new mountain bike I've discovered that I actually do like cycling, so there's that too.

I really can't run nowadays due to having a foot full of metalwork after an accident, but I used to. I started running in my late 30s after a very rash promise to take part in a charity event and I found it really hard at first but I grew to enjoy it.
I think the secret is pacing yourself and building up very gradually. Walk - run intervals worked for me. Celebrate the small improvements and set small, achievable goals. It's really easy to expect too much of yourself and then get demoralised.
Run somewhere you feel comfortable. I think outdoors is both easier and more enjoyable than on a treadmill, in part because you can set yourself visual targets. Getting to the next tree or gate seems more attainable than doing another minute on the treadmill somehow.
And get yourself some decent kit because if you feel more comfortable you will be able to do more, as well of course as reducing the risk of injury. A decent pair of shoes is a must, but perhaps less obviously, I always found a good bra to be key! I don't have particularly big breasts but even so, a good sports bra really made a difference to my comfort and confidence when running.

Paula Radcliffe has done a bit of running and she looked ok at the BBC Sports Personality awards last December. IMO. 😀

I'd rather have a bunch of gold medals than an artifical face, but each to their own!

All my runner friends look great. I don't like the Botoxed look anyway. I like a sporty weatherbeaten look.

I'm really interested in the running too fast thing - I've tried C25K thing several times and got to 5K but always feel awful and hate it. It's definitely the breathing that does me in. I have the lung capacity of a very small old lady.

On a treadmill, how slow is slow enough? If I'm likely over time to be able to build up, I'd like to try. I do like a specific instruction though. I guess I would walk about 3mph (about 4.8kph) - would you set the machine to 5K per hour initially and build up to running for the whole time and then speed up? Or try going a bit faster than that initially?

Patience young grasshopper,
you must learn to jog
before you can learn to run

Running hurts my knees but cross trainer is a good alternative. Even the one in the park is some form of exercise!

The breathing is the hard bit but once you get it you won’t forget it.

I remember a teacher at school saying to me you can run slower than you can walk if you want to so start very slow and short maybe just a mile run and really focus on breathing not speed or anything. I did this when I was first learning to run and it worked a few sessions focussing just on breathing nothing else and I cracked it. The hardest part was getting over the fact I was running really slow and felt rubbish for being slow

TBH I used to hate this

I used to go to the gym A LOT and did various classes of the more jumping around variety. Every time anyone mentioned running and I said I couldn't run well they would say have you tried couch to 5K like a demented parrot. (I never actually said I wanted to run)

Also in school it was always deemed runners were fit and anyone who couldn't run was unfit.

There are many ways to keep fit. Running doesn't suit everyone.

Usually people who can't run are trying to go too fast. Slow it down, focus on increasing the amount of time you ruin for, or distance, but don't worry about speed.

I'm a covid runner. People always assumed isa runner cos of my build, but I was not. I struggle with breathing. Sinusy mouth breather.

Did c25 first part of covid, then kept going cos it got me out of the house.

Chewing gun was a game changer. Don't know why, but it totally regulates my breathing.

I've recently come back from injury, which meant starting on a treadmill again and my god, treadmill kilometres are looooong.

Back outside again and I can't tell you the difference it makes just to be outside again. I don't run to stay slim (I ear and drink too much for that), but for the freedom.

Oh and some days I feel like I'm running like a little gazelle; bounding I've kerbs like a Disney deer... and others I can barely lift one for above the other, like I'm running in treacle.

It's very difficult. I am brilliant at swimming but cannot run for shit. Many of my family members are marathon runners, I can do about five mins of pained face running and that's it. When I do start to improve I pull my calf and then cannot walk properly for a few weeks. All I can offer up is what helped me, which was to start small. So walk with a little 30s to two mins slow jog. Then slowly build it up. Make sure to eat enough protein and drink lots of water. Breathing was two quick inhales in through nose and one longer exhale through mouth. This helped me. Relax the shoulders be aware of not clenching hands into fists (relax the jaw too, no clenching). If you hate it you can always try some weight lifting. I much prefer this.
Amount of sleep affected me, as did time of the month. Pre-period- sack of spuds and ovulation time - Bambi with wings
Good luck with it.

Thanks so much for all these replies, some of them have me smiling away! Who knew it might lead to a saggy face, as if we don't have enough to worry about 😂🤣

I'll definitely try slowing down, there's a film, I think it's called Brittany runs a marathon, where she's overtaken by a school trip out on a walk 😂

This table shows the average time for different age groups to run 5k. It’s worth noting that no cohort of female runners has an average of anywhere near 30 minutes- you have to look at men in their 20s to get that fast as an average. So don’t pile unrealistic expectations on yourself.

Also, expect that it will be torture for several weeks when you first start, even on C25k, and you have to do it regularly to get any better- twice a week isn’t enough to build your fitness up.

I watch a running coach on TikTok who says if you can't hold a conversation if you're red in the face etc, you're going too fast. Run a turtle pace, she said it's so slow it's embarrassing but who cares, that's what you need to do! Game changer.

I didn't used to be able to run. Things that made a difference:

1 high impact sports bra
2 properly fitted running shoes
3 headphones and a comedy pod cast
4 C2 5K (nhs version)
5 realising that "running" is not "sprinting"

I did an old version of couch to 5k years ago. It was a PDF published on the Nike website. The first week was gentle - 1 minute slow jogging, 2 minutes walking alternatively, the second week stepped up a bit. The third week I genuinely thought I was going to die, but kept pushing on. After 6 weeks I was running 5k.

Finding your pace and rhythm is the key. I can't run in company, I have to go at my pace. And I have to run every other day. If I take a break I have to start from almost scratch again. Running isn't really my thing.

While we're talking sports bras, has anyone else noticed that shock absorber have gone to shit now champion are making them? They always came up small, but I bought I new 32 e (bra size 30f) and it's smaller than my existing 32es. I did some extensive measuring and comparing, just to be sure. And factored in any potential stretch from previous bras. There are other details that aren't as good either. I'm holding it together, just, but shock absorber have been my staple sport bra forever.