We need a new running thread: Feb. 23 and on

[yellow]

Is it normal to feel kinda crappy for the first 30 minutes, then something clicks and you feel on top of the world?

Yep. For me, every time. Except my period of misery lasts about 45 minutes. I think it just takes that long to warm up. A pseudo-famous friend of mine always says it takes one minute per year of age to warm up on a bicycle. For me that also applies to running.

I'm still running, actually back into a regular routine now. Next event is a trail half marathon later this month, then a 10 miler with that pseudo-famous friend mentioned above in early April, then a 50k sometime later in April and, depending on how the rest of training goes, the big dog at the beginning of June: 50 miles. I've been working with a sports nutritionist because between hormones, age, and training load I cannot get my when-I'm-not-running food right. No big results yet but I remain hopeful. 20 miler planned for tomorrow; it will be a good test.

[Crankin]

Well, no wonder I feel like cr*p the whole time I run! I also know it takes me at least 30-45 minutes to feel good on the bike, unless I am going very slowly. At my age, that means close to an hour of warm up . So, I never get that runner's high, because it generally takes me close to 40 minutes to do a 5K and by then other things are hurting.
This is why I rarely do group rides, because they go out so quickly. Even my regular group who are mostly even older than me, do this. Then they wonder why I am always in the front at the end.
I think some people are just in need of more warm up time than others, Emily. Lately, I've been doing run-walk intervals, as it seems that mentally, that's all I can take. But something keeps me wanting to run.

[indysteel]

For whatever reason, I generally feel warmed up on my bike at 9 or so miles, or roughly 35 minutes (I'm 41). I'm not aiming to run for longer than 3-5 miles at a time, so I'm not sure I've ever going to feel "warmed up," during runs, but that does provide a good reminder that I should ideally walk for a longer period of time than I currently am to warm up.

[jessmarimba]

Emily, I feel pretty miserable running in general until I can do about 5 miles at a time. But the first mile or two is usually just bleh, and then, yeah, it all clicks!

Now that I KNOW it will all be easier once I can get to that 5 mile distance, it makes it easier to suffer through the training to get there, but when I first started running it was just plain awful.

I didn't do a very long run yesterday, but I did run up a hill that's about 0.8 miles of just up (4.8% grade?) at my old flat ground pace, so hurray!

[Ambikes]

I will add my voice to the chorus - I absolutely feel much better after the first half hour or so of running. For my last half marathon, I actually ran negative mile splits for miles 9-13, and I didn't feel all that bad when I finished. That race convinced me that a marathon was possible for me

I ran a fast-for-me 5K on the treadmill on Monday. On Tuesday, I got a couple of immunizations, so my bike interval workout that night was only so-so. Then, I had to skip my run yesterday because I felt so awful from the shots (chills, fever, tired, blah!). I did another 5K on the treadmill today, and I'm moving my long run up to tomorrow because I'll be on a plane flying to Costa Rica on Saturday!

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks for all the feedback, running gals! I can run about 5 miles max, though I haven't done that much for awhile. I generally only run for about 40-45 minutes, so I'm only getting 10-15 minutes of the "high", but it's really nice when it comes!

I would like to run longer, but most of my runs are done at our work gym on the treadmill, and time is limited. I am not very good at outdoor runs because it's usually either too cold or too hot for me -- I am very much a wimp when it comes to running and temperature zone. I don't ride in very cold temps either, but I will ride in hot temps b/c of the wind I create. That doesn't happen w/running, so I get uncomfortably miserable too fast.

Don't know about the age thing -- I will be 50 next month, and blessedly, it doesn't take me quite that long to warm up either running or on the bike.

[Susan]

Funny that you ask, my husband and I were talking about that on our last run, we both agreed that for the first half hour it feels more like fighting your body and then somehow it's so much easier and fun. We were asking ourselves if your body first tries to convince you to stop, and when you obviously don't, surrenders and makes things easier for you.