Runners, Bikers and Athletes enter... (Austin: neighborhoods, gym, vs)

[OneJackson]

I'm an Athlete and I love to ride my Bike, shoot hoops, etc..,,BUT I don't like to run far. why is that and how can I change that? I want to get up to at least 3 miles a day before or after work for starters. I can do a .5 mile then I stop. not because of leg cramps or "too" tired but I just stop. I want the key to keep going. who has it and can I borrow it?

[WillysB]

Set the destination in your head, call it your distance. No hurry, no worry, just Go there.

Swoosh

[jobert]

Go to a gym where they have TV's so you lose track of time, or get a Wii Fit Plus, and use the "free run" option - you can set your time, then switch to TV if you get bored.

[Trainwreck20]

A couple of ways, I suppose. One of the main ways is to have a goal (say, run a particular 5k) in a certain amount of time, and then get a buddy to set the same goals. Nothing like peer pressure to keep you going.

Also, starting to run and the early distance is the hard part. For me, the first 1.5 to 2 miles seemed like work. After that, I settled into a rhythm and it is much easier (mentally) to run. I somehow stumbled into being a running buddy for someone wanting to run the Austin marathon, and although I had run short distances (5k or less, occasional 10k) I had never run long distances until then. For many years afterward, 8 miles was my usually distance, and after the first couple it was actually pretty enjoyable.

Running is great excerise, too. I was an avid basketball player for many years but some problems with the knees kept me from playing (but not from running). I tried cycling, but it takes sooo much longer to get the same level of workout. Nothing beats running for efficiency of time vs benefit . If you are a cyclist, I would assume that the mental blocks are similar, but I have never been much of a road cyclist.

[Trainwreck20]

Oh, one other thing....trying to run too slow can be more work than running fast. Speed goals can be a good thing. The 1/4 mile markers on the trail around Town lake are great, just remember that the ones on one end or the other of a bridge are usually off since the marker really belongs on the bridge proper but they can't put it there. Anyway, the markers are close enough together as to make good goals with relatively 'quick' feedback. 2 minutes between markers is a good jogging speed for someone who is in shape but not a current runner. Slower than that is harder, both physically and mentally, for most in-shape people.

[OneJackson]

Originally Posted by jobert

Go to a gym where they have TV's so you lose track of time, or get a Wii Fit Plus, and use the "free run" option - you can set your time, then switch to TV if you get bored.

I hate running in gyms...tooo repetitive and I stop. I like to run through trails and neighborhoods. more to see.

[OneJackson]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Also, starting to run and the early distance is the hard part. For me, the first 1.5 to 2 miles seemed like work. After that, I settled into a rhythm and it is much easier (mentally) to run.

hit the nail on the head. this is my exact issue. I need to break through that ceiling in my mind. it's hard though. thanks for the advice.

[OneJackson]

I notice everybody says to set a physical goal mentally but as a former football player lifting weights, I was taught to take the "goals" out of my head and just lift until it hurts. So in running, wouldn't running without a physical goal marker be just as good? It worked for my weightlifting workouts.

[Trainwreck20]

I had a long range goal (run a marathon) with lots of intermediate goals (next week's 15k or whatever), some weekly goals (check out Austin Fit ), and then there were the goals of each run. In reality, most were not goals as much as milestones. If you ran until you dropped, you would quit running soon enough. If you only ran until it hurt, you would never improve . The trick for me was to push myself just beyond my comfort zone for at least the last half of the run. I tended to start 'comfortably' because that was the mentally hard part and because I never really bothered to warm up properly .

Anyway, you can also run for a period of time instead of a distance. If you run 5 miles a day, three days a week, you are going to take longer or shorter on each one. Sometimes, the one that hurt the most took the longest, your body was just not in the zone. If you run for a period of time, it helps eliminate that negative feeling from running 'slow' on a day even though you felt like you were working.

Lifting weights and running are two different things, but to make a comparison, your weight goals in lifting would be comparably to time goals in running (say, a 5k in 25 minutes, or average an 8 minute mile), not distance.

[OneJackson]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

. If you ran until you dropped, you would quit running soon enough. If you only ran until it hurt, you would never improve . The trick for me was to push myself just beyond my comfort zone for at least the last half of the run.

I will try this method. thanks.

Anyway, you can also run for a period of time instead of a distance. If you run 5 miles a day, three days a week, you are going to take longer or shorter on each one. Sometimes, the one that hurt the most took the longest, your body was just not in the zone. If you run for a period of time, it helps eliminate that negative feeling from running 'slow' on a day even though you felt like you were working.

Lifting weights and running are two different things, but to make a comparison, your weight goals in lifting would be comparably to time goals in running (say, a 5k in 25 minutes, or average an 8 minute mile), not distance.

I was told by a running buddy that the lactic acid build up in the muscles is what makes you feel fatigue earlier than normal and that's the "ceiling" that I'm hitting. is that true?