Why is the first 10 minutes so hard

[Yorki50]

I find the first 10 minutes of the run the hardest . Both physicaly and mentaly. Anyone got any advice please

[shelleymcb Graduate]

ditto.

it takes me anywhere between 5-10mins to settle into a run & once my mind wanders & I stop thinking about it running seems easier.

dont really have any advice but didnt want you to think you were the only one who felt this.

I have recently done bridge to 10k & the first week involves 4x10min runs. I just could not complete the last run of the 4 & I did give it several gos.

relax those shoulders & try not to think how much longer you have left. that always helps me. I use a treadmill & cover up the time reading

good luck X

[Greg_M Graduate]

I am with Shelly, no advice just a bit of sympathy and understanding. If you ever figure it out you know where to come

I have been going 16 months or so now and its still like that sometimes. I just grit my teeth then after a few minutes it suddenly feels easier........

[bizzyb Graduate]

Sorry I cant't answer it either, last year for me I always felt dead at 5 minutes even when I got to the end and could actually run 30! How weird is that? The other thing is you may be starting off too fast, maybe start more slowly and build up speed in the middle and last section of your run?

[Yorki50 Graduate]

Thanks for the replys guys . Guess its just a matter of gritting my teeth for the first 10 minutes and then letting the fun begin lol

[Chicken6 Graduate in reply to Yorki50]

I posted a similar question, I was having real trouble with the beginning of each run. I took on board some advice to go slower than normal at the beginning of the run and only increace my pace when i was feeling warmed up ,which I did yesterday and it really worked for me.

Hope it helps, good luck

[louisera]

Hi Yorki - I'm by no means an expert but I think this has to do with the systems that are working in your body to keep the oxygen flowing around your muscles. On an everyday basis, walking and doing light exercise, we don't need as much oxygen pumping around in our blood, but when we're into a fairly long run we obviously need loads more. Your body takes a few minutes to switch to the system that lets us use a greater amount of oxygen (especially when you're just starting out and building up fitness).

I found this quite a revelation - it spurs you on for the difficult first few minutes because you know that your body is just adapting to the exercise and preparing itself to help you through the next twenty or so minutes!

[jen_1]

Yeah, I'm with louisera. It's like when you've been sat down doing nothing then you run up stairs n you get really out of breath- it's a shock to the system n you take a while to adjust.

I've been running for almost 10months now n am gearing up for a half marathon in 4 weeks n I still can find the first 10mins or so a bit of a struggle. I just think that I know it will pass n once I get into a run it feels great.