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Discouraged and going nowhere (Read 1578 times)

    I did use a heart rate monitor a few times but returned it to the store as I did not care for it.  At that point (early January) my heart rate during running was 130.  My resting rate runs in the upper 60's.  When I had a stress test several years ago, I was unable to get my heart rate up to the level they wanted and they had to stop me after a while realizing that it wasn't going to get any higher, so I assume 130 is pretty maximum for me.

     

     

    If both are statements are true, then I'd say you are running too fast.

     

    The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

     

    2014 Goals:

     

    Stay healthy

    Enjoy life

     

      I also am new to strength training, and I do yoga on off days.

       

       

       

       

      first off, congratulations on quitting smoking, not an easy thing to do & also getting out there & being active.   alot of people do nothing & to start at age 56 is amazing. (I'm 56 as well).  On those days where you are most discouraged remind yourself that every step you take is a step to improve your health & you are doing something positive for yourself & your health.  It will have payoffs as you get older & are still able to be active.

       

       

      When did you start strength training/yoga??  If you added these 2 activities recently you have added more stress & it could be affecting your running & overall energy level.   Whenever you add or increase more stress there will be an adjustment period.    If your goal is overall fitness then continue with the strength training as it is very important as we age.  Whether we are talking about running or strength training or yoga or whatever just go with a very slow gradual upward progression.  It is natural to reach a "plateau" for a short time, your body will adjust & then you can add abit more, plateau, adjust, add,  etc etc. 

       

      hope this makes sense, not sure if I worded this all very well, still early 

      DoppleBock


        At this point - I agree just enjoy the aerobic activity - try and do it at a very easy pace 4-5 time a week.  The mistake most new runners make is to try and run too fast in training.  It would be worth more to run slower and run longer between walk breaks until you can run the whole way.  Whatever you do - Try and find ways to work on this fitness with joy ... meaning find ways to make it enjoyable.  To some people it would be taking their dog for a run, Others going on trails and enjoying the trees or mountains.

         

        You are at a point where you need to build general aerobic capacity and general leg strength.  This can be done through many activities - Over a long period of time.  Be patient, be active - Do not limit yourself to only running.  If you want to work on "Speed"  Take a day where you power hike a hilly trail or set your TM to 10-15% and walk for 40-60 minutes.

         

        In training its about 1) Stress and then 2)  Recovery - Its actually during recovery that we build muscle.  There are times we over stress and or under recovery and we go backward a little bit.  Other times we stress a good amount, but it takes a little longer to recover.  For me after a period of hard work, sometimes it appears I am going backward for 3-5 weeks and then suddenly I am far ahead of the preious fitness level.

         

        But most importantly - make it fun and enjoy it for this reason - If the only reason you can find joy is in times of improvement - You will be saddled with a lot of unhappy times.

        Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

         

         

        DoppleBock


          There are medications that limit the heart.  I have a co-worker (42) That is an advid biker that could not get heart rate above 160 until he switched medications and now he can get close to 200. 

          Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

           

           


          Feeling the growl again

            There are medications that limit the heart.  I have a co-worker (42) That is an advid biker that could not get heart rate above 160 until he switched medications and now he can get close to 200. 

             

            beta blockers for one.

            "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

             

            I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

             

            DoppleBock


              I was thinking that if the original poster had a stress test - There may be some medications involved.

               

              I think the other issue - At age 56 you are past the age that you will easily put on muscle - It can be done ~ But not like a 20 or 30 or 40 year old.  But it should be the age of patience and wisdom ~ stick with it!

              Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

               

               

                My wife is also 56, and also was a heavy smoker for 25 years, and now has reduced lung capacity and asthma.

                unfortunately, her fitness has declined steadily over the last few years, her job is sedentary, and the walking she used to enjoy is now difficult.

                 

                It is difficult to gain strength and fitness as we get older, I am 61 and trying without success to get back the fitness I had at 58, but anything you can do to improve the situation is WORTH THE EFFORT!

                 

                As DB said, be patient, but be persistent.

                PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                    10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

                 

                DoppleBock


                  Sometimes the effort only allows us to keep the current fitness that we have and not lose more - That is worth the effort also. 

                   

                  It is difficult to gain strength and fitness as we get older, I am 61 and trying without success to get back the fitness I had at 58, but anything you can do to improve the situation is WORTH THE EFFORT!

                   

                  As DB said, be patient, but be persistent.

                  Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                   

                   

                    I just turned 60, and have been running about 8 years.  I'm still getting better, in fact my marathon PR was just last October. 

                     

                    We all respond differently, so take this free Internet advice for what it's worth.  I found that I need to run about six days per week in order to improve.  Most of my runs are easy, about 123 to 130 average heart rate, with two runs per week harder than that.  Last year, I did only one harder run per week.  The years before were almost all easy runs.  Since my maximum heart rate is about 180, those easy runs are definitely easy. 

                     

                    You may need to run slower.  Some of my early runs were at 15 minutes per mile.  That slow speed allowed my to keep running and eventually build enough strength and endurance to go farther and faster. 

                     

                    I suggest trying to run six days, or at least five days, per week.  Shorten the distance if you have to.  I think that six days of 1.5 mile runs may do more for you than three days of 3 mile runs.  Consider using a short 1 mile run as a warmup for yoga. 

                     

                    Improvement may come slow, but it will come. 

                      I would suggest trying the Galloway method.  If you aren't sure what that is, you can Google it but it is basically a run/walk/run method with the ratio of walk:run dependant on your fitness level and speed.

                       

                      If you can run continuously on a treadmill for 4 miles, you should be able to EASILY do 6 or 7 miles using this method.  

                       

                      But I would suggest you get some new kind of HR monitor.  If 130 is truly your max, you probably don't want to be exceeding 100 on these initial runs.  Even if that seems ridiculously slow!

                      2018 Goals

                      Figure out the achilles thing...... and THEN try to get running regularly again.

                      No racing goals 

                       

                      elasee


                         You've been running for 8 months but are only doing at most 9 miles/week. With a "base" of 9 mi/wk you've gotten as fast as you're going to get. Your body has acclimated to the training and there is no reason to improve further.  Ditch the intervals, and slow way down to below a fast walking pace. Start there, you can always run faster but learn to run slower first. Jog in place (0mph) and proceed from there. I've been where you're at. The fix was simply to run more and at a slow easy pace, to avoid injury. The speed will take care of itself with mileage. Try it.


                        You Are Beautiful.

                          To the OP, I think the original advice was good, add a few more days a week of running but slow. it. down. Mentally pace yourself to complete these runs with minimal breaks. The treadmill to outside shift is a huge one. I struggled a lot with it but definitely prefer outdoors now to the TM.

                           

                          I also wonder, what about the running makes you need to stop? While you're running, is it your breath? Your shins? General fatigue? What makes you need to stop?

                          My Storygraph

                          It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop. Confucius
                          Be patient and tough, some day this pain will be useful to you. Ovid

                          You'll learn to let things go. 
                           

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