New to running

[Hateit]

I have two friends that own a gym and started teaching a running group for beginners to prep for a 5k. I am beginning week 3 and can barely make it to 6 mins of running. When is it going to get easier and when am I going to stop dreading it?!

[JoolieB1 Graduate]

Don't even consider giving up, you are at the stage where it is a painful slog and I am on week 7 of C25K and loving it now but hated it for the first few weeks. Once you find a comfortable pace and sort out your breathing, you will find you can run for 10,15,20,25,30 minutes and beyond.

It is still new, your body is trying to find a balance and your mind is telling you to stop, you will never make it (it is lying to you), you can do it.

I am 51 and a non runner 7 weeks ago, enjoying my 25 minute runs and thinking about 5K, entering Parkrun and maybe beyond, keep it up!

Julie

[Steve_L Graduate]

If I recall, in week 3 of C25K we hadn't got as far as 6 minutes of running, but after 9 weeks, we were running for 30 minutes, and many can run a little longer to reach 5K.

Be patient - in another month or two, it will seem much easier. It doesn't happen overnight, but it does happen remarkably quickly!

[Hidden]

for start well done on starting and being at week 3 stick with it , you are already improving and will continue to ..

Steve is right it doesn't happen over night but it does slowly but surely , keep at it you doing just fine

[rmnsuk Graduate]

I'm betting that if you went back now and did w1r1 again, it would be much easier than last time. Your body is getting fitter but it takes time and persistence. each week you will be stepping it up and challenging your body to do a bit more. Soon, probably week 6 or 7, you will realise that you will be able to run for 30 minutes, so long as you keep at it, even though that still seems an impossible goal right now.

It does get easier. for me wk1 was the worst and week 4 was the worst too. What got me through was someone telling me to run more slowly. It made a huge difference. Last November I struggled to finish w1r1, last Tuesday I ran 15km in 108 minutes. The long run wasn't easy, but it didn't hurt so much as w1r1.

[dawncoates34 Graduate]

Just what the other guys say but what I found is slow the pace down and breathe along with your pace and should start to feel easier x Keep up the good work and all of a sudden you will find yourself addicted haha

[richardvc Graduate]

I'm repeating the same but pace and breathing is the key.

For me personally it was pace - I always want to shoot off but when I run well I run within myself - I hope that makes sense,

I had to run for 20 minutes non stop yesterday for the first time and struggled because I set off too quickly.

But I know, if I am smart with my pace, I can go a little bit further.

[gary_bart]

I think if you're already on 6 minute runs in week 3 of your friends program, they are making the assumption that you're an athlete, and you're not. In that case there's a simple solution: Drop that programme, and change to this one. Look at this forum, and you will find abundant evidence that this one Works.

Start out less ambitious ("no pain, no pain" was the creator's motto), and build from humbler beginnings. The reward for that is that you experience more of the pleasure of running, and less of the pain. You move more quickly to the point where instead of being hard work and suffering that you must just endure for some extrinsic reward like a shiny thing that dangles nicely, to something that just feels good enough at times to be worth risking the pain of a bad run for.

If you stick with your programme, you'll make "rapid progress" to a place you can also reach just by taking a gentler approach. You'll also make very, very Slow progress in learning not to dread it.

If you dump that junk and join in this, you'll do the opposite.

If you're struggling to maintain 6 minutes (but doing so) you'll probably want to try something like our Week 4 if you're in a hurry. If you want a little "break" (not exactly, but close enough) just reverse back one week, do our Week 3 (a little faster if it's not stretching you enough to be enjoyable), and carry on from there.

[Rignold]

I did a 25km run today and both dreaded it, and foud it 'not easy'. !8 months ago I couldn't run 100 yds.

The dread and the unease never goes away, its just the distances get further.

It's good to face down things you dread. Its good to do things that are not easy. that's how you know you're alive.

Admit I am surprised at you gym-running friends schedule. Perhaps you should have a chat with them about their exectations for beginners.

[jaynekate]

I like your name, sums up how I felt for a long while!

I think Rignold sums up well the experience of running in his second paragraph.

[Anniemurph Graduate]

Firstly, very well done for persevering when you're hating it. That shows that you can do this

Then I'd echo two things said above. The first is - slow down. Whatever pace you're doing, go slower! The running action is different from the walking action, so even if you run slower than your brisk walk, that's okay.

The second thing is, running for 6 minutes in week 3 is a lot more than I could have managed. I don't know your level of fitness, obviously, but if you're hating it, is it too difficult for you? Can you have a word with your friends to step it down a bit so you can enjoy it? Although there were times when I hated running as well, what I did enjoy was the feeling of making progress. Why not have a look at the C25K programme and see what the intervals are, and perhaps go out on your own and try Week 3 and see how that feels?

Good luck with it, and keep going. It does get easier

[ju-ju- Graduate]

You are doing brilliantly, it is hard, embrace the challenge and enjoy the benefits it gives you 😎

[davelinks Graduate]

Do c25k and stick to it! you don't think you can do it and won't be able to run 5k, I thought that as a lot do, but in just over 3 months I can run over 5k and got a PB time at Parkrun yesterday.

It doesn't matter about speed on the programme, just get out there and do it! You will reap the benefits for your efforts, as for breathing just be mindful and remember to breathe deeply about every four breaths, as you go on it will become more natural and breathing more stable without all the panting.. Good luck!