Running help please

[Trixibell1234]

I’ve entered a 10k in September. I’ve done Couch to 5k before. I entered in May as people I know who run said I’d be fine, it was enough time to go from novice to completing it.

I’m worried because it’s 6 weeks away and I can’t run for 20 or 25 minutes without stopping yet. I have been going out at least 2 times a week following couch to 5k since early May (mostly 3 times a week). Everything just feels like lead, I keep getting stitches and massively out of breath. My body doesn’t feel any different weight or strength wise. There is a max time for the 10k and I’m worried I just won’t even finish in time.

Please - any hints or tips, or positive thoughts or reality checks welcome.

I’m so anxious, I would honestly drop out but am doing it with friends and don’t really want to drop out. I think I’m now in a negative mindset of feeling I’ve bitten off more than I can chew as well which I’m sure isn’t helping.

Something that was a total game changer for me was learning how to breathe correctly during Covid lockdown. It means I can run a lot longer now and actually train. I think it comes naturally to some people but I had to actually learn it.
There are loads of videos on YouTube (I've lost the one I'm about to describe, sorry) but the one that changed my life was going in through the nose, out through the mouth, in pattern with my footsteps like this:
In (step) in (step)
Out (step) out (step)
Your pace of footsteps should support your breathing otherwise you're going too fast as others have said.
If that doesn't make sense try one of the techniques on YouTube, there are a few different techniques that can help you to crack it.
I have terrible exercise induced asthma and managed my first 5k with this method.
Also going out twice a week isn't enough in my opinion. Yes you need rest days but give yourself enough exercise to be resting from!

Are you a sports expert? Just wondering where this info comes from as it’s quite against what I’ve always thought

our running club with years and years of experience encourages running at a conversational pace for practice runs and as far as I was aware 80% of your training should be at a pace that you can hold a conversation at, with just 20% being at a faster pace where talking could be more difficult. I’ve certainly seen an improvement in my pace and distance since taking part in conversational runs and I can now easily keep up an 8:30/mile pace whilst chatting and a 7:30/mile pace on race day.

if you’re having to concentrate on your breathing so much you can’t talk then you’re probably going too fast for your ability.

I meant I enjoyed the chat from the Nike running app, it was called the grateful run or something, wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste but it felt like company. I actually prefer running alone so I don’t have to feel like I have to be sociable!

Believe me I would not waste my breaths on chatting. Breathing is definitely something I need to work on. Thanks for the help there, the breathing aspect is not something I appreciated till recently.

Sometimes I think I eat too close to going out. Sometimes I have to fit a run in when I can around family, work etc and also the hot weather this year. I normally go out at about 7pm. Thanks

You carry on running in silence, but social chatty running is here to stay as far as I'm concerned.

You may have a point if people are racing but if I'm out on a long run with my training partner, too right we're going to chat to make the miles pass quicker!

When they say you should run at a pace where you can hold a conversation, it doesn’t literally mean you should have a conversation 😆
It is a guideline. It means run as slow as it would allow you to have a conversation.

And having a conversation would be a good test of that. 😄

😂😂 conversation is literally encouraged by the group leaders all of whom have run multiple marathons. It’s a great test as to whether or not it’s the right easy pace for you and indicates a moderate intensity work out. Obviously this is determined by fitness level and gets easier the fitter you get.

if you’re struggling to hold a conversation you need to slow your pace. Chatting and running is great and makes the miles go by. It helps you to not have to concentrate hard on your breathing and allows you to breath naturally, over time you won’t need to give your breathing much thought at all even when you are running alone when going at a comfortable pace. Even on race day I don’t really get out of breath, but would give more thought to my breathing.

so when they say conversational pace. They literally mean have a chat 😂.

That’s the silliest thing I ever heard, encouraged to talk while running! 😆
Well, each to their own but I would hate it tbh. Someone breathlessly pouring their nonsense, boring bs into my ears because they can’t shut up for a minute and can’t wait till a particular exercise is over. The hallmark of the undisciplined mind and being a scatterbrain. Deeply annoying. I would have a chat during golf but not running!
Everything has its right place and time. When I run I just run, and when I want to chat I go out and socialise. I give everything my full focus and attention and that’s what I would advise others to do.
If you can chat during a run then your running is probably very slow, which is fine if this is what you want.

You do you flower but chatting whilst running is a great indicator of cardiovascular fitness. If you’d rather run alone then that is also ok but unless you have a lot of experience, qualifications etc in the subject I wouldn’t give out personal preferences as sound advice.

If you find it too difficult to keep up a pace whilst chatting then slow your pace. Or you could even try run waking if that’s what it takes to be able to have enough breath to hold a conversation. As your fitness improves you’ll be able to talk more easily and it won’t seem like a chore. When running in a group it would seem a little rude to just ignore everyone.

my pace has improved a lot since joining the running club and chatting whilst running has been a big part of that. I now almost always come in the top 10 females at local events, often top 5 so my pace can’t be really slow.

a couple of years ago I would have found chatting whilst running tough and enjoyable but I’ve got a lot fitter since then. Now it’s easy.

@yallahbye
Someone breathlessly pouring their nonsense, boring bs into my ears because they can’t shut up for a minute and can’t wait till a particular exercise is over.

Thats the point. They’re not breathlessly pouring anything because you’re not out of breath (unless going up a steep hill or something), you’re just chatting.

those of us who are marathon training use the social runs as our long and easy runs. We’re not pushing a hard pace but because we all have a good base fitness level we can run at 8:30-9/min miles whilst comfortably chatting.

If you can afford it get Runna app or join a local group. Runnna sends the run to your watch with pacing advise - makes it easy and the speed sessions less complex! X

I run faster and harder than that, so that’s why I can’t put up with idle chat.
But even if you just jog, you don’t need to talk to gauge your cardiovascular fitness. Most people know when they are breathing comfortably and when breathing becomes more laboured. Or do you mean when there’s nobody to chat with while running you are unable to tell your own fitness level?

You shouldn’t run fast and hard all the time. Fast hard runs should only be 20% of your training.

also faster and harder than what as I didn’t state my pace in that post (though I did state my easy pace in the next one). I can run a lot faster than my easy pace, but wouldn’t do it all the time as it’s just not good for you and tbh, not that enjoyable.

I also use V02 max with a bit of a pinch of salt as not had it professionally tested which puts me above the 95th percentile for my age. So clearly running and talking is doing me just fine. You don’t like it, so run alone and don’t do it but don’t give out your personal preferences as if they are fact.

@yallahbye My pace depends on the type of run I'm doing. I don't always run with someone so I'm not chatting on every run but if I'm going on a leisurely long run with my training partner, then we chat and it hasn't damaged our running or race times.

You carry on doing what you're doing if it works for you, but we're all different.

A 1970s PE teacher has entered the conversation 😂

Personally all the "HARDER!!!" "FASTER!!!" BS that my PE teachers came out with was the exact opposite of what I needed to learn how to run and to gain any stamina.

Being able to chat (and indeed having a pleasantly distracting conversation) is a very important component of safely building running stamina and reducing injury risk. There's a time and place for hard running, but all the time for every run is not it.

Being able to run and chat is a sign of good fitness, that your body can run with a fairly low demand on the cardiovascular system.

(We'll probably be told that running is bad for our knees next... or that it makes our faces sag with age...)

I prefer to run on my own with my own thoughts but "conversational pace" is a pretty well understood concept and mainstream advice is to do most of your training miles at this easy pace.

Whether you chat or not most people can readily understand the idea of running at a pace that they could, if they chose, carry on a conversation. A lot easier than faffing around with VO2max etc.

One person's conversational pace can be entirely different from another persons (truly one of the most dispiriting things in running is puffing and panting away and being overtaken by people having a nice chat!). My own easy/conversational pace differs from one day to the next depending how I feel on the day.

And it's still one of the single best pieces of advice for novices that most running should be at an easy pace, however slow you have to go to achieve it.

I am also doing a 10k in September and am a fairly novice runner. I finished couch to 5k in March this year, then rashly signed up to do a relay leg at the Belfast marathon in early May. Had to get up to running 7k pretty quickly. I started off just adding on another 5 minutes to each run I did, then got the Nike run club app for a bit more structure and managed no bother. Definitely slow down a bit if you feel like you're dying each time! Another thing that has really helped my fitness is doing a bit of strength training - Nike training club app goes alongside and has loads of workouts on there, lots that are fairly short and easy to fit in around life (I'm not sponsored by Nike, honestly 😂). I did a 5k race recently, more people than I imagined walked lots of it, I feel quite confident the 10k will be similar. I've got a big hill at the 9k mark, so will definitely not be sprinting up that!
Anyway, this is my non-professional, experience as a fellow novice advice. Good luck!