Running---Jogging

[Catrin]

I am attempting to take up a little jogging at the club. I figure it is good as a weight-bearing exercise and it will be good for me next winter when I can't go riding as much as I would like. I will have my own trainer by then, but the trainer isn't as much fun as riding outside/

Eight laps at my club's track = 1 mile. Right now I can JOG two laps for the need for oxygen makes me stop. My body actually feels fine, it is the lungs that are the problem. Last night I did a little walking/running before spinning class and at one point my heart rate was 171 I may have been pushing a little harder than jogging at that point, I can't remember.

I recognize that my body is conditioned for cycling, my heart rate never gets above 150 these days - in a hard spinning class nor outside. Running obviously uses more muscles and so forth...

Is it better to just keep lightly jogging those two laps until they know longer kill me before pushing it further, or should I push it a little further each week regardless? I am unsure the best way to do this as I have never run. I will never be the fastest or best runner out there, but that is ok - it just adds to my cardio choices and I like the jogging-induced breeze in my hair

[martinkap]

I am no trainer nor a coach but I had similar problem. I was jogging and my HR was around 170 (I am 38 yo). Obviously that is not sustainable for a long time.

I hired a running coach to figure out what can I do. I was refusing to believe that I am unable to run (choking/gasping for air after 10min running). He corrected my posture a bit (straight spine, don't hunch, open my chest, not to wave with hands much) and then he said run. When my HR started crossing 155 (that was when I still felt very comfortable - could talk etc), he said slow down. And more slow down and more slow down (so my HR stays around 155).

Honestly, at the beginning, I could walk on 3in heals faster than run (while keeping my HR under 155). He said, it is not important how fast I run, but that I'm conditioning my body for running. So, I was not allowed to start walking (which would be faster ) but had to mimick the running motion in very slow speed. I have preseted my HR monitor so it starts beeping when I cross 155 and I was trying to keep my HR around/under there.

I started 'running' this way 4x a week. Each day a bit longer. I think I started 15min. I loved that time. Once I got used to the really really slow running (aka once I stop being ashamed that an old lady with a dog walks faster than me 'running'), I actually enjoyed the motion. It did not leave me feeling like I want to die and that I cannot do it.

In about a months, I was able to 'run' in such pace about 45min-60min without any discomfort. That is when I started to play. I added small intervals in a bit faster pace (5.5mph). 30 sec faster and then 2-4min slow run to breath it out ...

About 5 months later (now), I can run about 5 miles in about 5.5-6 mi pace. Something I have never dreamed of. I know we all are different (I am primarily cyclist and have a sedentary job) but for me it was crucial to slow down (ridiculously slow down) and start condition my body for basically staying up right. Thinking about it, I realized that I constantly sit (on the bike or in front of computer), no wonder that a small jog was killing me.

Good luck and let us know how you're doing!

[OakLeaf]

I agree, it was the same for me.

It really took me some form work to be able to run slowly. (The form work also helped me run faster - it's just more efficient.)

Running will also always be more demanding aerobically than cycling, since it's weightbearing.

You'll be happy when it pays off on the bike and you're breathing through your nose while riding up hills that you used to have to stick out your tongue to get air.

[Bike Chick]

Great advice martinkap and Oak. I had been cycling 5 years before I started running and thought I was pretty fit. NOT! My heart rate would hit 180 within a couple minutes on the treadmill. It was the same for me as the two of them. I'm still running slowly (11-12 mm) but can run 5 miles now without stopping. I also found that running fitness progresses much slower than cycling fitness.

[TsPoet]

Interesting question and answers. I'll be getting out my HR monitor for tonight's run.

[GLC1968]

I did something similiar, but I dropped to a walk when the HR got up...walked until it recovered, and then jogged a little more, then walked, then jogged, etc. It was very annoying at first because my HR would 'recover' very quickly, but then my it would also skyrocket quickly so my intervals were tiny!

I actually eventually abandoned the process and just followed a couch to 5K walk/run training plan that did it by minutes (instead of HR). I really like martinkap's concept of just running very, very slowly. That makes a ton of sense to me now (after the fact) because for me, walking and running don't use a lot of the same muscles and I often felt like the walking wasn't helping my body at all. Running super-duper slow makes more sense from a physiological point of view.

For running, my cardiovascular fitness has now (after 5 months of this) outpaced my lower body's ability. I ache long before I feel like my heart/lungs need a break!

[Catrin]

This is a lot of good food for thought, I had wondered why my HR was so high since it is improved so much for other activities....and forgot the obvious - cycling, and spinning, is still a seated activity.

So I will try to be much more patient with myself, and focus on trying to run below a target heart rate - obviously I can't let it remain at 170...

Yesterday I jogged/ran until I had to stop, then walked a lap or two, and did the same a few times. I will try the super-slow process mentioned here...and will talk to my trainer about it so he won't be perplexed when he seems me running at such a slow speed