Forums >Running 101>Running too fast or trying to much?
I went out on my long run today, which by standards here isn't much of a long run (3 miles). Well doing my run I felt like I could not get my breathing under control and had to stop running at the 2 mile marker. My pace was a little faster than previous long runs. Should I just shrug it off as a bad run and make up for it next week? I did run a longer run on Monday of this week at a faster, could that be another reason? Thanks for the help.
The Irreverent Reverend
One bad run? Shrug it off and get back to it next time. Could be any one of a number off factors - what you ate or drank the night before, sleep, stress, etc.. Next time, watch your pace, and don't worry about slowing down a little bit. Also, consider cutting the distance down for a week before ramping it back up.
Good luck!
Husband. Father of three. Lutheran pastor. National Guardsman. Runner. Political junkie. Baseball fan.
The Pocatello Kid.
Good days and bad days. Sometimes it's explainable. Sometimes not. I wouldn't focus on one run or workout too much.
How long you been running?
I haven't been running too long compared to others here, but one thing I noticed is that you must be careful in logging your time. Meaning that you shouldn't expect one run to match or better the last run. There are a lot of factors that go into this.
I also did my long run today and it was 2-1/2 minutes worse than the last time I did the same run; you just need to put that out of your mind. I know it's harder said than done, because there were a few times during my run that I just felt like quitting, not because of fatigue, rather because of the psychological torture. Especially since I was doing better for the first 4 miles, but my mile 5 I hit some wall and it only got worse from that point on.
However, what keeps me running is the thought of what many say and I believe it, because it's also what the Kenyans say and that is:
(paraphased) The most important thing one can do to improve running is to run; don't worry about your pace or time, just put in the miles and once you do that put in more miles...
One trick I found to do is to run a very short distance during the week, basically every day I run an easy 2-mile run, not really concerned with time and then I do my longer (timed) runs during the weekends. The short easy runs allow me to recuperate, but still keep my running legs.
If you are pretty new to running, I would recommend trying to run at a pace at which you could hold a conversation (this is known as the "talk test"). If you stick with it, even at pretty easy paces, your endurance will really begin to build, and your paces will gradually get faster. When running by myself, I will sometimes say a few sentences (or even sing a little) just to make sure my pace is in a good range. Have fun!
PRs: 5K: 21:25, 10K: 44:05, HM: 1:38:23* (downhill), M: 3:32:09
Latent Runner
Distilling what others have been telling you into a brief statement, you went out too fast for your level of conditioning for today (which is only marginally related to your condition yesterday, or what condition you'll be in tomorrow for that matter).
Based upon what you wrote, you really want to become a faster runner (who among us doesn't?), so, assuming I interpreted your words correctly, the best advice I can offer you is to stop trying to run fast. Say what? Yeah, lose the speed and concentrate on distance; the fastest (and safest) way for you to get faster is to run more slow distance. Using today's run as an example, instead of trying to run 3 miles at a pace faster that "previous long runs", what would have served you better would have been to run at your normal pace and gone 4 miles instead. To take it one step further, you would have been even better served if you had slowed down a bit and gone for 5 or even 6 miles.
Once you're able to consistently able to run 6 or more miles at a crack, then, and only then, would it make sense for you to start thinking about speed, and even then, only for the last mile or two of your normal 6 mile run.
Fat old man PRs:
Distilling what others have been telling you into a brief statement, you went out too fast for your level of conditioning for today (which is only marginally related to your condition yesterday, or what condition you'll be in tomorrow for that matter). Based upon what you wrote, you really want to become a faster runner (who among us doesn't?), so, assuming I interpreted your words correctly, the best advice I can offer you is to stop trying to run fast. Say what? Yeah, loose the speed and concentrate on distance; the fastest (and safest) way for you to get faster is to run more slow distance. Using today's run as an example, instead of trying to run 3 miles at a pace faster that "previous long runs", what would have served you better would have been to run at your normal pace and gone 4 miles instead. To take it one step further, you would have been even better served if you had slowed down a bit and gone for 5 or even 6 miles. Once you're able to consistently able to run 6 or more miles at a crack, then, and only then, would it make sense for you to start thinking about speed, and even then, only for the last mile or two of your normal 6 mile run.
Based upon what you wrote, you really want to become a faster runner (who among us doesn't?), so, assuming I interpreted your words correctly, the best advice I can offer you is to stop trying to run fast. Say what? Yeah, loose the speed and concentrate on distance; the fastest (and safest) way for you to get faster is to run more slow distance. Using today's run as an example, instead of trying to run 3 miles at a pace faster that "previous long runs", what would have served you better would have been to run at your normal pace and gone 4 miles instead. To take it one step further, you would have been even better served if you had slowed down a bit and gone for 5 or even 6 miles.
Thanks a lot! Reading this makes me want to focus on running a given distance instead of worrying about the pace. I will try this the next time I go for a run which is most likely going to be on Monday. One of my major problems is I remember how I use to run before college and I feel like I should automatically be back at that level. When I look at my running times and see that I'm about 6:00 per mile slower than I use to be it really gets under my skin. Working on running slower distances is what I am going to focus on and forget about what I did before.
One of my major problems is I remember how I use to run before college and I feel like I should automatically be back at that level. When I look at my running times and see that I'm about 6:00 per mile slower than I use to be it really gets under my skin. Working on running slower distances is what I am going to focus on and forget about what I did before.
Trust me, I had the same issue for many years; I'm now closer to 60 than I am 50 and I've finally learned to cool my jets and gradually increase both my training and racing pace. Forgetting that I ran a 4:19 mile in high school, and forgetting the blisteringly fast road races I ran in my early 20s, I'm quite proud to report that this year alone I've managed to run nearly 1,700 miles (I'll cross that threshold tomorrow) at a nice slow 9:00-11:00 pace, even still, I'm able to muster up enough speed to run a 10K in about 47:00. Not too shabby for a (not quite as) fat (as I used to be) old man.
Thanks everyone for your help. I am going to focus on running slower and increasing my distance instead of worrying about running at a faster pace. Doing this I hope is going to help me become fitter and then I can worry about running races and working on pace. Thanks again.
Here is a very interesting article I ran across this morning which kind of underscores what the collective here has been saying:
Went out for a run today in about 4 inches of snow and decided to run at a slower pace than I have been. What a great run! Running slower made me feel like I could have ran for 3 hrs. Thanks for all your help and will being running slow like that for a while.
now you got it! the right idea I mean. in time (few weeks ?) & once you build up your weekly miles you can start adding in some faster paced stuff every now & then. but for right now just concentrate on building consistency (getting out & running more often) & the duration of time on your feet. great job!
My experience is that if I start my trip running too fast on the first mile, I become tired very fast. Maybe you should use an app so you can track your running and keep the pace until your running form improves.
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