1

How to get a newbie to slow down? (Read 300 times)

keeponrunning


    Hi.  I'm a fairly experienced runner (8 halfs, 2 25s, and a marathon), so a friend of mine has asked me to help them start running.  She's a bit overweight, but I think that'll go away with running and eating healthier (she's been away at college so she's been eating like crap).  I'm starting her with a C25k plan.  My question is:  how do I get her to slow down?  She'll start running intervals at a sub-10 min/mi pace and slowly die out til she can't run anymore.  She says she can't run any slower, but I know she must be able to.  Any advice?  If it matters, she's 23.

    Sulphur Springs 50km-- Ancaster, ON-- May 28, 2022

    Tally in the Valley 12 hours-- Dundas, ON -- July 30, 2022 (Support SickKids Toronto)

    Stokely Creek-- 56km-- Sault Ste. Marie, ON-- Sept. 24, 2022

     

     

      You can't. She'll either figure it out, or wash out of the sport pretty quickly. At least that's been my experience.

      Runners run

      GinnyinPA


        Either run with her (or have her run with someone else) at a slow pace or have her try running on a TM.  I'm like her.  I have a very hard time running slowly when I'm pacing myself.  But when I'm on the TM there is no problem at all.  Have her try running at 5.0 for 1/4 mile, then 5.1, then 5.2, then 5.3 until she gets to the point that it starts to feel a bit difficult, then back off a bit and hold.  At the least, it shows her what really easy feels like.

        kcam


          Just go run with her and do not go with her when she starts off too fast.  She'll quickly get the idea when she's leaving you behind.  If she still comes up with that "I can't run any slower" just let her go.  And then when you pass her as she's walking later you can say "Hey, I thought you couldn't go any slower?" ... and do not stop and walk with her, just keep on going.  Tough love.

          NHLA


            Have her run by time alone on a route where she doesn't know distance. This is what I have to do to slow down.

            Mabe start her on a run-walk program.


            #artbydmcbride

              Run with her and make her talk to you the whole time she is running.   And full sentences too, not two word phrases.

               

              Runners run

              music_girl117


                If you're feeling snarky you could always take her to a track and say something like "Do you think you could run one lap at a relatively even pace throughout and finish it no faster than 3 minutes [12 min/mile] if I gave you $1000 if you manage it? ".  Of course she could, and of course she knows it.  So have her demonstrate (no $1000 reward though), and go from there.  Smile

                 

                Nah, I don't know, but folks like that annoy me. Sad  Good luck.  As others have said, maybe she will figure it out on her own.

                PRs:

                5k - 22:53  (May 2015)

                10k - 50:00 (unofficial; part of 20k race, March 2015); 50:33 (official; July 2016)

                HM - 1:48:40  (Apr. 2015)

                  Running in the heat I tackled today would slow her down but you're too far up north to have any intense heat.  Well perhaps it happens a little there.

                  Daydreamer1


                    Most people spend at least sometime in their childhood running, whether while playing or during organized sports. Think about how you run at those times. It's more likely to go all out then to go slow. I'd say that most of the adults that start a running program want to go too fast at first. The ones I've talked to all speak about how they ran when they were younger. Running fast, or trying to at least,  is programed into us. Getting them to understand that it's different now is difficult.

                     

                    You state that she runs intervals at a sub-10 min/mile pace. It seems to me that the problem is that she is so slow that it's truly difficult to run any slower. At times I have the same problem. It's just very difficult for me to run a 10-11 minute mile, for some reason I find it very uncomfortable on my legs. I'd rather do a run/walk. When my 10k pace is 7:30 to 8 minutes it's easy to slow down by  a couple of minutes a mile. For some reason it's not so easy to slow down that much when I'm already slow.

                     

                    My advice, FWIW.  Start with following Ginny's advice and use a TM if one is available. Next, just make sure she is getting in the miles. If she can't run it all then do a run/walk routine, it will still build fitness until she can run a entire training distance at the pace she is comfortable. Remember that a training plan is really a suggestion and by trying to adhere very strictly to a certain one may just lead to both of you being frustrated. Third, assess why you're helping her in the first place. If it's important to you to see her succeed then just try to adapt the plan and  your expectations while at the same time trying to get her to adapt to what you want her to do.

                     

                    Above all remember, no one ever said being a teacher was easy.

                    keeponrunning


                      Thanks for the advice-- she is starting with a walk-run plan.  I'm hoping she naturally slows down as the run intervals get longer.  Apparently she was up to 2km runs in Thunder Bay, but it's a lot harder to do that in southern Ontario with the smog and humidity.

                      Sulphur Springs 50km-- Ancaster, ON-- May 28, 2022

                      Tally in the Valley 12 hours-- Dundas, ON -- July 30, 2022 (Support SickKids Toronto)

                      Stokely Creek-- 56km-- Sault Ste. Marie, ON-- Sept. 24, 2022

                       

                       

                      brianogilvie


                      Greetings, Earthlings!

                        Excellent advice quoted below. The "talk test" is ideal, because one of the signs of approaching lactate threshold is no longer being able to talk comfortably. A lot of beginners start out C25K (or similar programs) at a pace they can barely sustain for 60 or 90 seconds, then crash and burn in the 3-minute intervals of week 3 (or 5-minute intervals of week 4).

                         

                        Run with her and make her talk to you the whole time she is running.   And full sentences too, not two word phrases.

                        BeeRunB


                          If she won't slow down, tell her you're through helping her, because that was your help. Your advice is the wisest thing she could learn at this point. So, if she doesn't want your help, let her go do it her own way and at her own speed. Unless of course she just wants someone to watch her run and give her approval. That's a whole other mentor-protege relationship and might be rewarding. 

                          emmbee


                          queen of headlamps

                            I'm a new runner (< 2 years), and learning to slow down was hard for me, because I am not very fast, and I felt like in order to improve I needed to be going faster and faster.  Still working on it, but what helped me:

                            1) Run by time rather than distance -- if I'm going to be out there an hour anyway, might as well run it easy.

                            2) Run trails -- can't just go for broke when trying to avoid rocks and roots.  (At least, I can't.  I wind up with really good form and slow picky miles.)

                            3) Walk breaks -- when your top running speed isn't all that fast, it is very hard to run slower and maintain any kind of form.   So encourage her to run/walk (maybe 2 minutes/30 secs), which will give her body a break without making her feel like she's plodding.

                            jmctav23


                            2/3rds training

                              trails not treadmills...hills help too

                                I suggest she run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute and go for maybe 5 kilometers.

                                By week 3 maybe it's run 5 minutes and walk 1 minute.

                                By week 10 maybe only 1 walk break during the 5 kilometers.

                                She needs to know it's not how fast you finish, but how much time you spend.  Walk breaks allow you to spend more time out there.

                                 

                                 

                                 

                                 

                                1