Come on, it's only the first mile! (Read 959 times)

Is it just me? At about the .25 mark, I find myself laboring for breath. I don't really get into my stride/breath until the 2nd or sometimes 3rd mile. I do consider the first mile my warm up, and go as slow as my body will let me, but for some reason I am breathing heavy almost all the way through it. Should I go even slower? Like I said, it does eventually even out and I feel best at about mile 3 or 4. Also, for racing purposes (5k), is there a good way to ensure my first mile isn't wasted on warming up? What are your suggestions for alleviating this? If I run a mile before the race, there will still be wait time until the gun... Oh, and as far as my log, I'm rebuilding after having the flu for 2 weeks, hence the inconsistency of the last few weeks. But I'm up to my 20 miles again, a goal I never thought I would reach! Yay for me? Thanks!

Is it just me? At about the .25 mark, I find myself laboring for breath. I don't really get into my stride/breath until the 2nd or sometimes 3rd mile. I do consider the first mile my warm up, and go as slow as my body will let me, but for some reason I am breathing heavy almost all the way through it. Should I go even slower? Like I said, it does eventually even out and I feel best at about mile 3 or 4. Also, for racing purposes (5k), is there a good way to ensure my first mile isn't wasted on warming up? What are your suggestions for alleviating this? If I run a mile before the race, there will still be wait time until the gun... Oh, and as far as my log, I'm rebuilding after having the flu for 2 weeks, hence the inconsistency of the last few weeks. But I'm up to my 20 miles again, a goal I never thought I would reach! Yay for me? Thanks!

I get the same thing for about the first 1/4 mile in a 5K. I feel out of breath a bit adn then settle in to my pace after that. I think it is probably the neves a bit and just the excitement of the start of the race. For my half marathon it lasted a little longer - probably teh first mile before I settled in nicely. For a 5K you might want to set your pace a little slow but I wouldnt use it for a warmup. To warm up for a 5K I usually do an easy 10 minute run about 20 minutes before the start and finish it off with 4-5 strides. In reality I should probably even do this closer to the start time. I have read that for a 5K you want to start the race with your legs already warmed up and your heart rate already slightly elevated.

I'm glad to hear it's normal. It was actually the reason it took me so long to get into running...after a quarter of a mile I used to think, "It's already this hard, there's no way I can keep this up!" Not knowing that once you push through, it gets easier. Well, for the most part. Not to be trite, but I guess a lot of things are that way!

It ALWAYS takes me about 2 mile to settle down and find a good beat. I get frustrated a lot because I either start out with a cramp (even though I try elevating my breathing before runnign to get my diaphragm used to it) or I have to get back to the house quick and make dinner and go to work, I feel like i dont get a good workout unless i have off of work and can devote some time to running. My log looks horrible lately because I just havent had time to go out and get some miles in. I am getting soo frustrated. I only did 1 5k so far and i didnt do any kind of warm up. My next one I will try and do a 10 min easy jog to get my blood pumping and maybe get my usual cramp out of the way before the gun goes off. i feel your pain though

I get this every time. I don't think it unusual and imagine it is simply the body getting used to the extra work you're demanding from it. It was the same when I swam regularly...keeping going through the first 200 metres, fighting for breath, was initially disconcerting but your experience tells you to hang on in there - all will be well