Hey All, I just started jogging about the beginning of May. I was inspired by one of my best friends who just ran the Boston Marathon back in April, and finished a *very* respectable 1399 out of some 22,000. I don't plan on running a marathon, but I'm looking to be able to do 5k by the end of this summer. So far, I've been able to do about 2k 3 or 4 nights a week, on a 400m high school track, and I did 4k once a couple of weeks ago (I just felt really good that night, and decided to keep going). I've got a question for any out there who are able to give some advice: my breathing is pretty irregular once I get around to the 800m mark, and I find it hard to have a regular breathing pattern. I think that I'm actually thinking too hard about my breathing while I'm active. Could this be the case? And if it is, should I just focus on something else, and let my breathing happen? Thanks for any help! :TU:
Hi Glen, I met my first goal yesterday I have been running off and on for about 6 months and ran 4.1 Miles or 6.6 KM Yesterday. Take it nice and easy and get a little radio "it helps for me". Good Luck! :TU: Tips Just breath through your mouth. Nice and steady "the radio helps you think about the music and not breathing" Also do not clinch your fist try and open up your hands it helps blood flow/ Oxygen flow through your hands and arms. I put my pointer finger tip and thumb tip together.
advice from a runner for 25 years. go slow and start with short distances. do not overdo it. buy very good shoes. i use asics. i started by running around my street block and building up the laps until i figured that i had reached two miles. i then started to run on the streets. stay off concrete sidewalks or roads. concrete does not give, asphalt does. ran faithfully 4 or 5 days per week, all seasons, 2.5 to 3 miles. a couple of years ago, i stated to feel knee pain after my running, so i quit to save my knees and now walk. i had no desire to run a marathon. i have seen what these long distance do to knees unless u are skin & bones- no weight.
Jogging I've been jogging for 3 years. I do about 5K for 6 days a week. My best advice is to start off slow. Your breathing will get better as your heart strengthens. If you push yourself too hard, your body will react negatively. I agree that music helps but listen to your body. Also, instead of a track, try some low hills. Take them slow but they will help build endurance faster and they are a great workout for the legs and butt.
best advise i have is to breath through your nose. using your mouth, dries out your throat and lungs and makes it tough to breath. also run on trails if there available. running on a track, you see every meter you have to go and will get you down mentally. if your on a nice trail, youve gone miles in no time. lastly, try and find a running partner. helps a lot, and becomes a social event, rather then a task. :TU:
Thanks for the tips, everyone! I'm not trying to push myself too hard, because I simply couldn't do that. I know my limit, and at the moment, that's about 2-3k. I picked up this activity both for health and for leisure. I recently had some incidents with my heart about 4 or 5 months ago, and my doctor suggested that some more physical activity would be a good idea, and so far, it's something I'm quite enjoying. We'll see how dedicated I am when the snow flies. My sister is sometimes my running partner, and having someone to run with certainly makes the time pass quicker. Otherwise, however, I'm still quite content to run by myself. I really like running at night time, around 11:00 or midnight, and the cool-down period and exercises give me a chance to think and meditate and pray. Phil, thanks for the tip with the hands. I'll try that tonight. Gerry, I bought a pair of New Balance shoes, not sure what model, but my buddy helped me pick them out, so I know they're good. And hmz, I will give the inclines and upgrades a try. The street I live on is on a slight incline, and I can definitely feel the resistance when running uphill. Thanks again, guys! :TU:
I find the best joggers, runner and marathoners are the ford owners, theyve got more of a reason to be on thier feet than the rest of us. :grin:
here are my suggestions, in no particular order: stretch, especially your calves and hamstrings. for cardiovascular conditioning, "they" say it's better to go at a steady pace you can sustain for 35-40 minutes every other day than to try to get a couple of fast miles every day. alternate run/walk if you need to build up your mileage. pick a pace at which you could comfortably carry on a conversation. find a nice cinder path or trail. concrete or even asphalt kills my knees. a 1/4 track is mind numbing-i find myself counting down the strides to the end... buy good shoes, then buy another pair in a couple of months. alternate them. I rotate three pairs, so that at any time I have one almost new, one well broken in, and one pair on its last legs. this will keep you from going too long on a pair and possibly causing an injury as you can tell the difference when compared to a new pair. I weigh 220 lb, and mine are shot by 300-350 miles. you will find that most shoes are made for average size runners, say 150-180 lb. the guys you see winning marathons are <150lb. I don't want their shoes. while I'm on shoes, my runners are a full size bigger than my other shoes so I can wear thick socks and to allow for my feet to spread out. get some good running shorts so you don't end up with crotch rot. you probably don't have to contend with the kind of heat and humidity we have, but the dri-fit apparel works well in summer. your irregular breathing may be because you are setting too fast a pace. stop and walk a while until you are comfortable, then jog again at an easy pace. don't overdo it. if your breathing continues to be erratic, get back to your doctor!
My knees can't take it so I just walk...a lot. My 89 year old grandmother, anytime she saw someone jogging would always say: "If I ever see a jogger who looks like they are enjoying themselves, I'll go join them!"
I grew up in MA where my home is about a block a way from the marathon route and about 4 or 5 miles away from the finish line. Unless your gifted with a marathon running body iv'e seen it do some awful stuff to the human body at that 20+ mile point. Every year I would and still once in a while go see the front runners and they still seemed to run a 5 minute mile at that point with no signs of suffering. 2:00+ to 4:00+ hour runners are gifted and show well when running. Iv'e seen the late after 5:00 hour runner's pushing themselves and I cannot say or believe it's healthy for them.. Men and woman leaking blood and fluid from their nipples, arm pits "not from shirt friction burn", women leaking body fluids and blood from the front privates and back, and the men also at times. They look like they might go into total organ shut down at that point, I don't know how else to explain it. When I used to run at different times in my life I kept myself to 2 to 2.5 mile runs about 5 times a week with the occasional 4+ miles. This way I had decent cardio bit didn't overdo my body and knees and feet. I also used to lose more muscle mass when running longer. I found running tracks and blocks and counting the laps a bit boring and would change it up by running different roots around the neighborhood..
I ride my bicycle. Much better for you in the long run. Years and years of pounding on the joints playing competitive basketball have made me believe long distance running is just no good for you. A marathon? Forget it. I’ll do it on my bike in less than an hour thanks.
Need to start running again. I love to sprint. So I guess I'm a sprinter lol. But I have to start slow again. I just love going fast even if it's on my feet. I was listening to something cool the other day regarding running. I'll load soon
I like to either walk or ride bicycle. The only times I run are when there's an emergency or I piss off my wife.
I ran a bunch of marathons (a dozen or so, I lost track) My best time was about 3.5 hours. I haven't run distance in a while, I don't really have time to knock of 13 or 18 miles on a random Wednesday after work any more. I found the single most important thing was to lace up your shoes and get out the door. If you can make it that far, usually the rest is easy.
I do 2-3 mile runs. In my early 40s, I was up to a half marathon but the time investment was too much.
