Earlier today, I found myself chatting via IM with Blaine Moore of Run to Win. During our conversation, I asked him for some tips about getting started running. Though I’ve never really liked running, I’ve been recently feeling as if I should give it another shot. It can’t be that bad, can it?
Why do I hate running?
To be fair, I’m still not sure if I hate running, or if I’ve just never given it a proper chance. My apparent dislike of running mainly stems from boredom and — to be perfectly honest — suffering.
While I’m happy to climb on an elliptical and go nuts for an hour, or to jump on a rower and crank out 10km, I’ve never been able to get over the hump with running. I’ve tried and I’ve failed.
One of the biggest problem for me is that I’m completely and totally aware of my discomfort when I run. On an elliptical or a rowing machine, I can lose myself in a TV show and the time just melts away.
When running, I can’t hear anything but my own labored breathing, which serves as a constant reminder that I’m uncomfortable and not having fun. This is true even if I listen to music or a podcast.
Everyone keeps telling me that if I just keep at it, I’ll learn to love it, but… I’ve never gotten over that hump. With that in mind, I asked Blaine how long it takes the typical newbie runner to adjust and get past the suffering.
How long does it take to become a runner?
According to Blaine, it depends a lot on the individual – what kind of shape they’re in, how motivated they are, etc. He did, however, give me some good rules of thumb…
For starters, your cardiovascular system will take 3-4 weeks to adapt. In other words, within a month you’ll find it much easier to run faster and/or longer without gasping for air or “having your heart trying to explode out of your chest.”
That being said, your musculoskeletal system takes 5-8 weeks to adapt. This means that your “natural speed governors” (your heart and lungs) stop slowing you down before you muscles and bones are ready for that extra speed and/or distance.
Blaine’s advice is thus to “give a particular level of effort a few months before ramping up too much to avoid getting stress fractures.”
This is very helpful information, as it gives me a much more concrete idea of just how patient I need to be when learning to run. Blaine also shared a number of other tips, such as running with a partner, trail running to keep things interesting, etc.
How to become a runner
I still haven’t settled on an approach, but I’m seriously thinking of giving running another shot. Right now, I’m leaning toward the Couch to 5k (C25K) program, which I once started (several years ago) but promptly bailed out of because… Well, I’m not sure why. Because I’m a wimp, I guess.
For those that are interested, here are some good reads on becoming a runner:
- Can You Become a Runner, or Are You Genetically Doomed?
- Beginner’s Guide to Running
- How I Taught Myself to Run
If you have any advice or suggested reading, I’d love to hear it.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Good luck! Remember to start out slow and if you need to or want to, take walking breaks. You shouldn’t have to worry about labored breathing if you are keeping to a slow and easy pace and not just hammering right out the door.
Go for a 30 day challenge.
Anybody can do something for 30 days without quitting because they know that it’s _only_ 30 days and then they are welcome to stop, whereas if you say I’m going to become a runner then you might get discouraged and give it up. 30 days is usually enough to settle into a habit.
If you are only running a few days per week, try to spend the same time walking on the alternate days to get yourself out and moving. It’ll help prevent delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) a few days after your run as well.
Oh geez! I’ve been running off and on since 2002 and pretty much hated it until this year. It sounds silly but I found that running to military cadences gives me something to focus on, helps me keep a consistent pace and controls my breathing. Now, I still find myself a bit bored during the longer runs but it certainly is a bit more enjoyable than it was.
I would strongly endorse the C25K method. It’s what worked for me. It was tough but it was just so fantastic to be able to complete it.
Andrew: How soon after finishing the program did you run your first race? Were you able to find a 5k race that coincided with your “graduation”?
I don’t train on the C25K program but I’ve looked at it and seen people who have succeeded on it. Jeff Galloway has a program too. I’m going to register for my first 5K race tonight and I’ve finished training for the 5K in the gym so moving it outside now.
I think a big road block for people when it comes to running is that they honestly believe they can’t do it. Like with everything, it takes time and small baby steps. Back in February, I was running a 13 minute mile. Now I’m at an 8:45 and am working to cut back to an 8:30.
It’s like basketball (yay March Madness!). Basketball players weren’t born to shoot perfect free throws. They learned to shoot them. You might not be born to run, but you certainly can learn how to
I am a chubby chick trying to slim down – I’ve lost 20 lbs so far. And amazingly, at a weight 5 lbs above my highest weight when pregnant, I have taken up running. I am using something like the C25K approach. This week I am running 2 minutes and walking 3 for 6 repeats. The best thing I have done was get a stopwatch with a dual countdown timer, which lets me listen for the beeps when it’s time to run and walk. Not anxiously looking at a watch or timer to see how long I have left is letting me stretch out time so that my 2 minute run feels almost exactly like my 1 minute run. Now I realize that these are not long running times (yet) but when 12 minutes of running feels the same as 7 minutes of running, I hope that I can eventually get to 30 minutes of running feeling like 7 minutes of running. Then the road’s the limit!