Beginning Running Has NOT Been Fun!

[Trekhawk]

Running is definitely not easy -- if it were, everyone would do it. But if you stick with it, don't try to do too much too soon, there's a good chance you'll eventually come to enjoy it. I know I felt on top of the world today both on and after my run, and it's made me all the more enthusiastic and itchy for more. So, like cycling, running really can get under your skin, as GLC's post also illustrated. It can become fun and something you look forward to.

Good luck!

Emily is right running really does get under your skin. I started trail running last winter and although I still find a majority of my runs really hard work I could not give them up now. I never thought I would feel the same passion for trail running as I do for cycling but I had to admit to myself the other day that I do.

[Artista]

A modicum of success today! I've been doing the short intervals at the beginning of my C25k program but I realized that it's going to take me forever to get though the program if I run only once every 10 days or so.

We've been doing a few minutes of running in our fitness classes and it hasn't caused me any problems. I decided to bump up to the 3 minute runs in my program today and it didn't kill me! My legs were a little tired but didn't hurt. My breathing was heavy but I could have gone farther.

I'll use the program to bump up gradually from here. But 3 whole minutes of running without stopping! I feel like I'm getting somewhere now

[Melalvai]

It's like paying off the mortgage, it takes forever at first to get anywhere! Good work!

[Crankin]

Ha, Artista, you're ramping up when I feel like quitting. I took a rest day today and started my morning with recovery yoga for roadies. I am riding tomorrow.
Not sure when I will run again, but probably Monday, maybe Saturday. I'm starting week 4, which I am sure includes more than the 3 minute runs...
The assistant director at my clinic finished the program and did a 5K a couple of weeks ago. She is peer pressuring me into doing one with her. I know I'm already faster than her (I won't say her time) and could do it with no other training, like I generally do everything, i.e. centuries, metrics, the only 5K I've done. She is my son's age, but not in good shape, although she has an athletic background. So, I have that goal in mind for around June. Thankfully, I am leading a ride on May 5th, when she wanted me to do the next one.

[Artista]

Crankin, you've been pushing yourself pretty hard. Instead of quitting altogether, maybe it's time to stop ramping and just maintain what you've already accomplished with a run every week or two. You could start ramping again next fall when the weather is less conducive to cycling but still good enough for running.

[Crankin]

That's what I want to do, but something keeps pushing me toward running, despite the suffering when I actually do the run! The weather forecast now looks absolutely horrible for the entire weekend (for riding), so I suspect there will be at least one run. I am going to play it sort of by how I feel. I slept for 9 hours last night (unusual for me) and woke up feeling like a truck hit me. I worked this morning and then just came back from a 23.5 mile ride with Hirakukibou. I was so slow, my legs felt like lead. It is very windy, which didn't help, either.
Onward...

[Artista]

Interesting that you feel compelled to run even though you aren't always enjoying it. Sometimes our guts know something that our heads aren't aware of. Be kind to yourself, though. That doesn't necessarily mean go easy, but kindness is always in order.

[WindingRoad]

Artista if it makes you feel any better I only did 3 miles on the treadmill yesterday. Combined walking steep incline with running and I felt like poo today. I haven't run in probably a month. Did a shop ride this morning and about died. BUT, I'll keep doing my little bits of running here and there because it does keep me in best cardio shape and its great for bones. It will take a while for me to get comfy running again. It is a very slow process for me. Nothing 'natural' about it.

[Artista]

It's time for me to retire this thread now that I've completed many successful run/walks. I'm still not a big fan of the actual running part but I'm enjoying what running is doing for my aerobic stamina. I started out really disliking having to run for 60 seconds at a time. Now I'm up to really disliking running for 6 minutes at a time. In another couple of months I should be up to really disliking running for a full 30 minutes at a time

Thanks for the encouragement and great advice everyone! I really couldn't/wouldn't have done it without you.

[Crankin]

With the advent of more consistent cycling weather, I feel like I am done with running. I do it when I feel like it. I am glad I can consistently run for 5 minutes at a 9-10 minute mile. But, I am not feeling it.
I'll probably ramp it up more in the fall.

[Artista]

I'd be doing the same thing if I had more time to ride during the week. One of the things that I like about running is that I can fit a short, efficient, workout into a busy workday more easily than I can fit in a bike ride. And now the aerobic benefits of running are making my weekend cycling more fun. I'll keep running as long as I like the benefits more than I dislike running.

[Crankin]

I solved that issue by going out at 5:30 AM for short rides (10-18 miles) at least one day a week before work and also, working 80% time, so I can do at least one 20+ mile ride during the week.
Some of my running takes just as much prep because sometimes I just can't take running out my door, which involves 10-12% grades every time. So, I drive to the town center and run on the flats. I also don't want to give up my circuit/weights/core classes in the early AM.

[SadieKate]

Artista - just a word of encouragement. After stating in April 2010 that I'd made my one attempt at running and was now retiring (http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ght=horse+butt) I just ran the same race for the 3rd time.

Do I recommend my approach of running only once a year using 3 month 0-10 miles training plan? No. Especially, since my spring chicken days are behind me. However, I can say that this year I've been running without pain and even enjoying it. I think my connective tissue has finally caught up to the repeated impact and my brain finds its happy place sooner. I probably would have gotten to this place more quickly had I stuck with a year-around training plan but I want to ride and fish in the summer with the hubby -- and that isn't going to change.

My running mentor, yellow, has not only kept encouraging me throughout but she has emphasized that it really takes 2 years to get to this point. Of course, the fact that she has now flown out here and sacrificed her results ratings by shuffling through the race with me twice doesn't hurt. I owe a lot to her and my regular running partner for helping me through the newbie pain period.

Patience. It will come. And may your brain find a happy place for the journey.

[Melalvai]

A friend of mine said one day when he was young (long time ago now) he decided to run a mile several times a week and he did that for an entire year. Then he ran two miles several times a week for another year. Since then he's gone up and down but never below two miles several times a week, and he's never had injuries. He attributes that to having established a really solid base those first two years.

Or maybe he's just been lucky.