Anonymous wrote:

I disagree. I mean, you shouldn't be panting like a dog, but I'm more comfortable breathing in through my mouth, and I've been a runner for 10 years. The trick to breathing is, you want to keep to a 2/3 rhythm, e.g. breathe in two steps, breathe out three. If you get into a 1/2 (breathe in one step, breathe out two), you're getting anaerobic, and you won't be able to keep it up.

Interesting. It could be that my advice is old/out dated, but this is how my track and field hockey coaches trained me (20 years ago). Certainly, do what is most comfortable/feels best. I find that breathing through my mouth, dries my mouth out. If I breath in through the nose out through the mouth, my mouth never gets dry/uncomfortable. I like your advice on rythm--I'm going to try that.

Different strokes, I guess

The advice on rhythm isn't mine, to be fair (I read it in a book years ago), but I've found it to be very true. If you're decently trained, you can probably hold a 1/2 for a 5k.

I breathe through my mouth, deviated septum, no problems doing 26.2 on Saturday.

Also, I'm 5'2" with short legs.

NP here. How fast does it have to be to still count as "running"? I'm doing most of my running on a treadmill, trying to get from walk/run to running for an extended period of time. Right now I'm walking at 3.6 and running at 5.4 mph. But when I run my heart rate shoots up above 170 and I have trouble doing it for more than 3-5 minutes. Am I going too fast? What do people following a program like couch to 5k usually set the speed to?

I disagree. I mean, you shouldn't be panting like a dog, but I'm more comfortable breathing in through my mouth, and I've been a runner for 10 years. The trick to breathing is, you want to keep to a 2/3 rhythm, e.g. breathe in two steps, breathe out three. If you get into a 1/2 (breathe in one step, breathe out two), you're getting anaerobic, and you won't be able to keep it up.

Interesting. It could be that my advice is old/out dated, but this is how my track and field hockey coaches trained me (20 years ago). Certainly, do what is most comfortable/feels best. I find that breathing through my mouth, dries my mouth out. If I breath in through the nose out through the mouth, my mouth never gets dry/uncomfortable. I like your advice on rythm--I'm going to try that.

I was taught, in through the nose out through the mouth. It really does help. You should not be breathing in through the mouth out through the mouth--think of panting as a no, no.

I disagree. I mean, you shouldn't be panting like a dog, but I'm more comfortable breathing in through my mouth, and I've been a runner for 10 years. The trick to breathing is, you want to keep to a 2/3 rhythm, e.g. breathe in two steps, breathe out three. If you get into a 1/2 (breathe in one step, breathe out two), you're getting anaerobic, and you won't be able to keep it up.

Also, for those having trouble: start slow, and then slow down some more. Really, like turtle slow. 12, 13, 14-minute miles. I promise, you will get faster eventually.

I can't run either. When you all say breathing made the difference, what exactly? how do you properly breathe?

I was taught, in through the nose out through the mouth. It really does help. You should not be breathing in through the mouth out through the mouth--think of panting as a no, no.

a lot of running is mental. I have also found that even when I was in my best running shape and taining for a marathon the first 2 miles were always tough for me. It took me a solid 2 miles to get into my groove. So I suggest slowwing down and playing some mental games to get over the hump. You can do it!

OP here. Thanks for the helpful comments. This morning I slowed down and was able to do a full 28 minutes (which is week 8, day 1 of the program). And I definitely could have gone longer. I also signed up for a 5K in a few weeks, and after this morning, feeling very confident about it.

I'm going to keep this place through the next week and finish the program to get up to the full 30 minute run, and then start slowly increasing my pace to try and get a little faster.

I tried some of these recommendations last night and ran farther than i thought i could. Slowed down and focused on breathing. It really helped, so thanks everyone!

You know, I have friends who have been running regularly for years but they still can't do a 10-minute mile, so don't beat yourself up. Work on distance OR speed at a time, but not both at the same time. (this is true for more serious runners, too.) Also, twice a week is not that much. You probably won't see much improvement just running 2x a week. Not to discourage you, but that's maintenance level, not improvement level. 3-4 times a week would probably be better if you're trying to make progress. (suggestion: run every other day and do something else on the "off" day.)

You may be feeling the need to stop because you're going out too fast. I have a friend who does this. She's run with me a couple of times and I'm pretty fast for a chick (doing 8:10ish pace lately, for 6-8 miles at a time) but she can run faster than me and I have to keep up. But then she has to walk every half mile, which drives me crazy because I don't want to stop and lose momentum. I suggested that she work on her consistency - to start a bit slower and maybe she wouldn't tire herself out and have to walk. Sprinting is a sport in itself, but you're not aiming for sprint distance, you're aiming for 3 steady miles. So start a bit slower and see what happens, if you can go for a bit longer. Until you can do 2 or 3 miles without walking, try not to worry about speed.

Anonymous wrote:

You can do it, just keep it up. I have been there. I currently weigh 200 pounds and have completed two half-marathons -- one at this weight and one at 215 lbs (I used to be bigger, have lost 50 lbs so far). I ran each half-marathon the whole way, at a 10:30 pace, which while slow for some, I am quite happy with.

When I first started, it took me a long time to get past the 1-1.5 mile barrier. I never thought I would be where I am today. Never. Just keep it up, you will see progress. Good luck to you!

Wow, you are inspiring! I have to ask - because I'm overweight and was thinking of waiting to lose 10 lbs before starting Couch to 5 K - are you able to avoid injury due to the stress on your joints? And if so, how? I could use some tips.

If you want to stop(b/c you think you are tired or it is hard) slow down but keep running, don't walk. Your body will adapt, but keep running. Also, you may have to work on your mind...by this I mean, oh its hard, I am out of breath, I'm tired etc. Change your mind set...think of something that makes you mad, think about a time when you were embarrassed, redesign your house, count the number of steps you take over 10 seconds then figure out how many steps you will do in your 26 minute run. See if you can run 3-4 times a week.

You say you are only running 2xs a week, sometimes more sometimes less?

This is not enough to condition yourself for much of anything. When I started running, my goal was to keep moving 30 min a day for 5-6 days a week. It started out that I had to walk/run. Now, my "easy" runs are 5 miles, and my long runs are around 11. This was 2 years ago that I started.

Are you warming up before you start? I did the intervals backwards so I'd say run 5, walk 5, run 25. The 5 minute run and walk got my body ready for the 25 run. If your program isn't set up in incriminates like that, take a 10 minute walk first and then get into your workout.