ok i have been practicing (has been training) for 5K. Its says i need 9 weeks at least to train. So anyways, this is my week 1 and we had to do 5K walk/run for Easter. So i did try my training time was always at 44-ish min. Today i did extra hard and finished at 39:27!! I know i did my VERY best at it. And i know i am soo far from running this distance.

My question is... i noticed during my run that during the whole distance i had battle between my mind and leg muscels. I will explain. Its kinda wierd. My mind would say "ok, you should walk now, you had enough of running and you are tired, slow down" AT THE SAME TIME my muscles are still going strong and my breathing is fine. OK then i decided to concentrate on muscels instead now. But then my legs would imidiatly say "oh we are defenatly tired, and we cant run any longer" - meanwhile my mind would tell me to run more. So i would concentrate on my mind, then again, mind would say to slow down but legs would be fine, so concentrating on legs, they would ask to slow down and mind will keep going strong....

This was a confusing 5K thats for sure. ANyone had this battele before? How can i learn to deal with it?

I completely understand .... When my mind plays games, specially if nothing is wrong, legs are not sore, breathing is fine, day is beautiful, I try to quiet my mind by just focusing on the ground, my music or if I have no music just the sound of my breathing... I also often tell my brain to shut up and be quiet !!

The mind is a powerful thing and sometimes we just need to quiet it a bit and stop over analyzing everything.

COngrats on the 5k! I'm in training for my first one on Mother's Day.
You finished- and that's a big first step.
Secondly- I too have that constant battle- but as long as I continue- whether walking or running I consider it a victory.
I think this mind/muscle battle will diminish the more miles we get under our belts (or so I've read at some running sites).
Keep up the great work!

Ditto! The other thing I have noticed is that my first half-mile is the most challenging and then I get my legs under me. The other thing I try to do it throw in some speed work or intervals and that helps mix things up a bit and keeps my mind occupied away from the occasional discomfort.


Great job!!!

Congrats on choosing to do a 5K! My first 5K, back in Nov, I thought I'd never finish, but I did, without stopping my "jog". I was extremely slow, but I made a decision that no matter what, I wouldn't stop "jogging". No walking, no matter how much pain my mind was telling me I was in! It worked, because I've just completed my third 5K and getting ready to do my 4th on May 1st, and I continue that mind set....don't stop...don't stop! Yes, I'm still slow (38:50), but eventually I'd like to do it in 30:00! Your body will get used to it! It was a huge hurdle, but it makes those 1 mile runs cake after doing 3.1 miles! Good luck and don't give up! It's soooooooo worth it when you cross that finish line!

Congratulations on your progress!! Great job!! And yes, this happens to me all of the time. I play little mind games with myself. I try not to think about how far I have to go, and just focus on being in the moment. I tell myself that it doesn't matter how long it takes to get there, I will burn the same calories either way. I also try distraction -- listening to my ipod, or watching TV (if I'm on the treadmill), or chatting up my running buddies (if it's my long run). Different things work better on different days.

I respect everyone who has set a goal of running nonstop for a particular time or distance. That's a worthy goal! But, there is a whole training approach that advocates run/walk intervals -- that is; running a set amount of time, then taking a walk break for a set amount of time. I used this successfully for several years when I was just starting running. It allowed me to run farther, with less effort, than trying to run nonstop. I trained for and completed a full marathon doing 10/1's (10 minutes jog, 1 minute walk, repeat for 26.2 miles). Physiologically it gives your legs and lungs a break, so you can sustain the effort longer. Psychologically, it turns walking from a "failure", into a training strategy. And it doesn't really slow you down. That's counterintuitive, but because you are less tired, you are able to maintain a more constant pace. A web site that describes this in more detail is www.jeffgalloway.com. It's worth considering - and lots of people do it!!

Not to discourage anyone who wants to push for nonstop running! But, this may be another way to get there. That's how it worked for me. I started with the run/walk intervals and eventually found I didn't need to walk anymore.

MBN -- I agree intervals are fun... I am training a lady towards a non-stop 5k goal with intervals, when I run with her I am very relaxed, although sometimes I think she isn't , but I always enjoy our walk intervals... gives us both a good break and time to chat ...

thats how i am training my self too with intervals at first i noticed i could ran more than 30 sec at a time....now i can do 2 mins but yeah my goal will be to the poing i dont need to walk. But i do warm up with intervals for 30 mins.

Wow, congratulations! That's fantastic! I am currently training to run my first 5k in September. I agree that there is a constant battle between the mind and body. I have noticed that the minute I start to "check" and see how tired I am, suddenly I will feel tired. It's like my mind wants to remind my body that it's getting tired! If I don't concentrate on that, then I can run longer and farther.

I wish I could tell you what I do to avoid thinking about how tired I am, but I have yet to figure that out myself. It's like telling yourself "Don't think of pink elephants," and now suddenly all you can do is think of pink elephants! Same thing with the mind concentrating on the body. One thing I have found that helps is concentrating on my breathing. Controlled breathing is essential when running anyway, so I have found that focusing on it helps not only control my breathing, but it takes my mind off of the rest of me!

I also think that finding a good rhythm/pace helps. Sometimes I count my steps. Basically I'm trying anything and everything to get my mind off of my body!

If you have an MP3 player I know there's at least a few 5k interval training podcasts that start with just a few seconds of running and then work you up from there. I've been walking all my 5Ks :P but I hope to train my way up to running them. I actually made my own running play list by taking upbeat energetic music and cutting into 30 second and 4.5 minute intervals. Everytime the music changes I know to start running or start walking.

Congratulations on deciding to train for a 5k! For the longest time I thought I hated running and would never be a runner, because I always tried to do too much too fast. I ran my first 5k two years ago (to the day, April 14, 2007, I looked it up just now ) and now I'm training for my first half-marathon. You will get used to it and learn how to listen to your body. Good luck and happy training!

thank you all! i will just listen to what my body says and adjust to it