That's how I started running, using couch to 5k. But, I also discovered that if I warm up doing slow walking and sprints for the first 5-10 minutes, I'm good to go for at least 5-10 miles. If I don't do that, and just do a slow and steady buildup, I can't run as far.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought you were supposed to be able to converse with a partner while you run. If you out of breath, slow down.

yes this is one of the guides to know if you are running slow enough.
I've been doing this for years, but always too fast. Coming back from an injury has slowed me down and I am finally seeing the benefits of long slow distance cardio. Great way to burn some fat off your body

Zone 2-3 you should be able to speak in paragraphs. Zone 4 is a sentence. Zone 5 is a word.

Anonymous wrote:I thought you were supposed to be able to converse with a partner while you run. If you out of breath, slow down.

yes this is one of the guides to know if you are running slow enough.
I've been doing this for years, but always too fast. Coming back from an injury has slowed me down and I am finally seeing the benefits of long slow distance cardio. Great way to burn some fat off your body

This is a great time of year to be starting because your cardio system will be doing far less work trying to cool you down.

I would pick some sort of goal and follow a couch to XXGoal as suggested above.

There are solid sports science reasons to follow polarization type training. But, the biggest driver of that for a non-elite/non-pro athlete is for injury prevention.

I thought you were supposed to be able to converse with a partner while you run. If you out of breath, slow down.

Last Feb I started running again but started out run/walking. My run portion would be more of a sprint and I’d count to 50. Then over time increased to 100, 150 and then 200. I’d walk for a minute between.

Now I’m running 5k+ without stopping. I run 3-5x a week.

PP here - thank you! Going to try this with the suggested app!

Anonymous wrote:Glad to come across this. Would this apply to someone with a poor VO2 Max? I get winded running as well and it's pretty discouraging. However, several years ago, I had a VO2 Max test done and was told that I need more recovery time in between periods of intensity. So my question is, could slowing down also help. Regardless, I'll go and try and see. Thanks

Of course! VO2Max is increased by increasing endurance. So if you can run for 20 minutes at a slow pace, next week, increase the total time by 10-20%. Downloading a Couch210k app will help. You should be running almost painfully slow. Like walk as fast as you can, then increase just a tad until you are in a light jog. That should be your easy day running pace.

Glad to come across this. Would this apply to someone with a poor VO2 Max? I get winded running as well and it's pretty discouraging. However, several years ago, I had a VO2 Max test done and was told that I need more recovery time in between periods of intensity. So my question is, could slowing down also help. Regardless, I'll go and try and see. Thanks

It's not "slow down at first". 80% of your running should be in zone 2 aka slow runs. They are longer runs meant to increase your endurance. 20% of runs should be faster paced, like sprints or a threshold run.

This is why I hated running in childhood fitness tests (never minded in ball sports)—I was starting too fast and getting gassed after a quarter mile. Realized in my 20s that I should slow down and I’ve been a happy runner in the 3 decades since! I’ve run countless 10Ks and a half marathon.

I wish kids were taught to find their own pace in school.

Definitely. And also, for those who aren't able to run comfortably for 15-20 minutes, start with run/walk. E.g., x minutes of running, x minutes of walking. That might even start with 15 seconds of running, 5 minutes of walking, then build up to 10 minutes of running, 1 minute of walking. Just let your body adapt slowly.

I have gone through periods in my life where I tried to pick up running regularly but it just wasn't working for me. I got tired so quickly and very breathless and it was so painful. I thought it was just my physiology so always just quit after a while to do other things. I can walk fast for miles, hike, and I do spinning, kickboxing, etc without those issues. I got inspired to do a 10k next spring and don't want to totally embarrass myself by walking most of the way so I started researching running training and putting that research to work. I also started using a training app that tells me when to walk/run. Turns out my starting out pace was just way too fast. Now that I am basically jogging slowly to start out I can see how it is easier and how I can improve my time and stamina each week without being miserable.

So kids the lesson here is slow down at first.