Why isn't this getting any easier??
 

So I always thought that the more "in shape" I get, the easier it would be to run. Except that this has NEVER been true for me. Even when I was running 4.5 miles about 3-4 times a week in college, I still ALWAYS wanted to die after the first 1/2 mile. The trick was just whether or not I could actually push through that death-feeling and trick myself into going just a little bit farther and then a little bit farther.
Flash forward to today and I'm trying to get myself back on track. A couple weeks ago I pushed through to 4.7 miles (have never been able to crack the magic 5), Thursday I did my first 5K (27 mins 53 seconds! yay!), which was significantly less than the 5 miles I've been shooting for. And even that nearly killed me. Last night I went slowly to try and sustain but had to walk at 3.5 miles. I still want to die every single step after the first 1/2 mile, and it's a real struggle just to keep going. Oftentimes I have to quit well before my target distance or time.
Why isn't this getting any easier? Does it ever get easier? Will I ever just be able to whip out 2.5 to 3 miles easy without hating it and feeling like I won't make it every step of the way?!?:?:

holy COW girl, you're going FAST! i started at a whopping 17 minute mile walk, and have worked up to an 11-min mile - but it's taken me about a year to do it. at this point, though, i can run 6-7 miles and feel good. the first mile is always the toughest, but i never feel like i'm going to die.

have you tried slowing down (but maintaining a run) to be able to go farther without hurting?

I couldn't tell, how long have you been running this time?

I started C25K in August, finished in October. Although I was obviously getting better and better all the time, it wasn't until January that I got past most of the discomfort, physical or mental.

Maybe you just don't like to run. It was the same way for me for years, it didn't change until I truely decided to embrace running. I set goals for myself, registered for events etc and made it exciting to run because I knew I was working towards something. Also building more muscle will help you have more energy to run, so try some weight training if you don't already. But ultimatly if you don't want to be running you'll just be counting down the minutes until you're done, making it not so pleasant.

thanks for all your input.
kuhljeanie: so here's the thing, i *think* i just get tired and bored. and i always need to slow down, no matter what speed i start at. so, oddly enough, i found i can go farther if i do sprint intervals every 4 minutes for the first 2 miles or so, and then just do a solid steady 10-12 minute mile for the remaining 2 or 2.5 miles (for a total 4-4.5 miles). at first i logically thought that if i could do that, then if i just started out at the 10-12 minute mile in the first place that i'd be able to go for even longer. but this was not so. if i start out at that pace, i still feel like i need to slow it down or die by the end of mile 1 and actually do so by the end of mile 2. since it's a weird combination of both tired AND bored, if i were to start out at a pace less than 10 min/mile, i think i'd probably cap out after like 2 miles anyway. i haven't actually tried this though.
JulieJ08: this time around i had a couple of non-starters that didn't take over the last two years. i finally started in earnest in august with 2 miles, worked up to 3 miles by october and have been stuck in this 3-4.5 mile rut ever since. when i was doing this in college, i was doing 4.5 miles for about a year and it never really eased up. i wonder if maybe part of the problem is that i don't go frequently enough. only about twice a week, three on a good week. do you think it would be better to do 1.5 to 2 miles more frequently rather than 4.5 miles about twice a week?
and sm177: you're right. i hate running. unfortunately i keep doing it because i feel like it's the most bang for my buck (i hate working out in general) other than swimming. and swimming is not easily accessible.

aack! i totally just misspoke about the times when i said 10-12 minute miles. i had a brain fart when translating the speed to miles per minute.
what i really mean is that i generally go between 9min40sec mile to 10min mile.

the reason i went so fast (just about or a little less than 9 minute mile) for the 5K is because it was a race (my first!). so i felt like i should try and push a little faster or something.

If you want to go farther, then you need to go slower. If you maintain a slow, steady pace that feels comfortable, then you should be able to go much longer.

But ... it sounds that you don't enjoy the process of running. And you know, most days, I'm not sure that I love the process of running either. And I run an average of 25-30 miles per week. So why do I do it? I run to burn calories, to meet goals that I've set (speed / distance), and to train for races. I LOVE the races!! I enjoy running with my group on Sunday morning long run day, the miles just fly by while we're discussing everything under the sun and solving the world's problems. My solo runs are "me" time, where I can think, listen to the radio, or watch TV (while on the treadmill). And I always feel great when I'm done .... energized, happy, productive.

But running is still hard. Getting started is hard, especially the first mile or two. Anytime I push myself to go faster or longer, it's hard. But hard is also good for me, and I enjoy all of the benefits that come from it and that's why I stick with it. And once in a while ... I do find myself in that "zone" where everything clicks and running seems almost effortless. But that is the exception. Most of the time, I've just learned to enjoy "hard".

So you have to decide whether the effort of running is worth the benefits to you. Or find something else that you like to do ...because if you keep feeling that you hate it, then you may not be able to stick with it long term.

This.

As for your specific questions and concerns-- Yes, you probably need more days a week if you want to increase your mileage. Lots of people find that the first half-mile or mile stinks; it takes a few minutes to get everything in gear when we start running (regardless of walking warmup). Go slower to go longer. If your 5K was on roads/trails/any other form of real world and your training is, at it appears, on the treadmill, part of why you feel like crap now is because you worked a LOT harder in the race than you have been training.

no no i feel fine afterwards. i feel awesome. that's the only reason i'm ever able to motivate: because i know i'll feel good about myself afterwards and it's the only way i'll be able to lose weight. but it's the actually doing it part that's the absolute pits.

FWIW, when I have two or more nonspecifically lousy runs in a row (like last night, when I discovered that I had absolutely no legs even though I felt good and was looking forward to the run) it's my first clue that my shoes are going.

yes, absolutely you should try going 1-2 miles on other days and not have EVERY run be your longest run of the week. Instead of 2 4.5 mile runs a week I would suggest maybe 2 2mile runs, 1 3-mile run and 1 4.5-mile run.

If you race a 5K at 9 mm, then most of the rest of your runs should be SIGNIFICANTLY slower than that. The 10-12 mm you mispoke would actually be a better pace for the majority of your runs.

As for motivation - sign up for more events, and longer ones. I dont like the first 2-3 miles most days. Thats why I run LONGER. But I run a LOT slower relatively. I'll run the bulk of my training runs at about 9:45 -10 mm. But I can RACE the 5K in under 23 minutes.

Go slower to go farther
Go farther to go faster.

Oh...and try to find a training partner. Nothing to be bored about if you talk the whole way.

I have been upping my running the last few days. I was dying with side stitches and a few days ago I read about how to prevent them--deeper breathing and pursing your lips as you exhale. I was able to run 4 miles + this morning just doing this alone. That is up from 3 miles before. I bet tomorrow I can get to five. This morning I could have gone further but was out of time--had to get kids out the door to school. Good luck!

I was going to suggest looking into breathing techniques too...breathing is very important. Also, are you eating enough for the running? Could it be that you just don't have enough fuel to power yourself through?

thanks for all the tips, ladies! i KNOW that i need to shoes and am working on it. just need to make the time to go to the store and make it happen.
same goes for the working out my frequently. i just seem to have trouble fitting it into my lifestyle, but maybe it'll be easier if i go for shorter spurts. as it stands, when i go to the gym, i'm there for an hour and a half. by the time i get home and showered it's too late for me to go out on a weeknight. i have it pared down to just a couple nights a week so as to salvage some semblance of a social life. maybe if i was only just doing a 2 mile quickie i could do both gym AND go out. hmm...
as for the finding a buddy thing. many people have suggested this to me but i'm skeptical. i know that research shows you do better if you have a friend to hold you accountable. but for myself, for no reason i can understand, i find that i do worse on days when there are other people in the gym with me rather than when i have the whole place to myself. at least in the beginning. if the other people show up after mile 2 then i'm usually ok through to 4 miles. but if they're there earlier, i usually peter out at 3. and also, it's very strange, but watching tv makes me worse as well. i think it's something about the energy i spend following what's going on on the show (ha!). i don't know. i'm sure it's probably all in my head, but these are just patterns that i've noticed about myself.

gotta tell you... I posted almost this exact thread.... and this was the answer I got. it felt reassuring to me.

many months later I am still really feeling the HARD in the first 1-2 miles, sometimes 3-4 but I do often, not always, find the "zone" and it regularly gets downright pleasant.

:carrot:

I gotta say that for the first year to two years that I was working out, about 5 min into every single workout, I felt like I wasn't going to be able to finish it. It took a good two years of very consistent exercise to get the point where it didn't feel like every single workout was a struggle. And my workouts are still hard. I don't if I really got past the point of feeling like I wasn't going to make it or if I've just completed so many workouts that my brain now knows to ignore that feeling.

I've noticed that changes in my diet quickly produce changes in my body. This isn't the case for exercise. It takes a long time for any change that I make in my exercise to show up in my body--in terms of appearance, endurance, and strength. I think maybe you just need to keep at it and eventually it will get easier, but you probably need to think in terms of years, rather than months. Hopefully I'm not discouraging you.

And, if you don't like running, why bother trying to run longer and farther? It would be one thing to have that as your goal if you enjoyed it, but why try to make yourself do more of something you don't like. Instead, try to get a better workout in a shorter period of time.

There have been multiple studies that show that running intervals is more effective, in terms of fat loss, than steady state. So maybe don't worry about the distance and just try to do 20 to 30 minutes of intervals a few times a week. For most of my running workouts, I focus on doing a specified number of intervals and a specified speed. I never even notice what the distance works out to be. Lately I've been adding some steady state at the end, but for a long time, I didn't even bother with that. I just did my intervals and then a walking cool down. It's been a very effective workout for me and I enjoy it a lot more than running at a steady pace.

This is really interesting, I'm wondering now if I'm not running fast enough because it feels so comfortable when I run. lol..
I do notice however that when I was running for 30min straight without walking intervals it took about 10min for me to warm up and 'get in the zone'. Maybe you just need to give your body time to warm up that first mile?
Another thing I find helps a lot is listening to music, it really distracts me and the time flies by.

thanks everyone! i'm definitely going to take some of these factors into consideration. at this point, i think the easiest place to start is adding in more interval training. oddly, i've found that when i start with intervals for two miles, it makes the time pass more quickly and i am able to go farther and longer for that time. so i guess i'll just keep sticking to that. and hopefully i'll be able to get new sneakers soon.

FWIW, running 101 says you don't mix speed work with distance work (intervals for two miles then keep going to see how far you can extend).

This is why I love interval training--the time just flies by. The time drags when I do steady state, but when I'm counting my run out in minutes, it's over before I know it. It's also so much easier to push myself when I know I only have to do it for 45 more seconds, now just 30 seconds, 15 seconds, 5 seconds, done! I see very few people at my gym doing intervals and it always surprises me that more people don't do them.

Inquiring minds would like to know why?

Try Glover or Galloway for an explanation.

Those are the links to the book. Can YOU tell me why?

Yes, they are links to books.

I'm not an expert but here's how I look at it.

Speed work (intervals) are designed to teach your body to run faster, in the way that you stride, your pace (turnover) and how your body processes oxygen and lactic acid. It's meant to be HARD, you're going to wear out faster, so you have to do this kind of training in shorter sessions. If I do an intense speed workout, then I sure don't feel like going out for a long run immediately afterward.

Long, steady state runs are designed to increase endurance. It teaches you simply to be on your feet and moving for a long time (sometimes a VERY long time).

I guess if you are just out to burn calories, then heck, just keep moving. If you are a runner in training with a specific goal in mind, then how you train for speed and endurance becomes important.

That's my 2cents anyway ....

Thanks a bunch, MBN. I appreciate the answer. ;)

YES, totally! I'm finding this true for me, too. I used to loathe working out because I would hop on the elliptical or cross trainer and get bored so easily... I was a bad clock watcher and it just seemed torturous and blah. When I started C25k - which has you running in intervals the first few weeks - the time just flew by and before I knew it, all 30 minutes were done. Eventually I do of course want to work up to running for 30 minutes at a time, but I'm really enjoying these first few sessions of interval running.

I agree it also helps to know you only have to do it for a certain amount of time... I think doing intervals also helps with not doing too much too soon too fast... it kind of forces you to take things in stride without overworking yourself.

....says the girl with shin splints. :p

The first part of my runs are challenging. I second the intervals suggestions.

I did have a thought. We tend to play mental "tapes" in our heads. Might be worth trying to reprogram yours.

For example: if you think "oh, this is awful, I'm in pain, I'm dying, this sucks, when is it over?"----mmmmm, not so fun!

Try telling yourself:
"What a gorgeous day. Look at that sky. It's so great to be out here. I'm strong. I'm powerful. I'm swift and light on my feet. I'm being so healthy! I rock!"

You might have a better run. I know that when I change my thoughts, my emotions follow.

ok i have consulted with a friend who is also a personal trainer, albeit not on this issue, per se. i asked him about target heart rate because mine is waaay off that zone for 80% of my workout. so he has suggested that i run at whatever pace i can maintain my heartrate at 145 for about 4 miles, however long that takes. i'm gonna try that today, but i'm not optimistic about actually being able to stick to it for that long. i get bored and antsy sooo easily, which is why i like to go faster. but he said that at the speed i'm going making my hr go so high, i'm not increasing my overall fitness level. i'm just burning energy. so we'll see how it goes.