RunningAHEAD - Topic: Why do I hate the first 2 miles of a run?

theyapper

On the road again...

posted: 10/13/2008 at 10:59 AM

Feel free to sprinkle the sarcastic, funny one liners we all love, but please mix in some good runner wisdom, too. It seems that no matter what distance I run, the first mile to 2 miles are the WORST. I want to quit, I wonder why I ever started running, I start replaying political debates in my mind. Like I said, they are the worst. Beyond that, everything seems good. My run yesterday is a great example - a 7.5 mile long run. Ran it nice and easy, around 10 m/m, but felt terrible until I hit that 2 mile mark and then was on auto-pilot for the rest of the run. I get that muscles need to warm up and that something magical happens at some point with endorphins, but should it take 2 miles? Ideas? Expertise? Short, pithy sayings to share?

I write. I read. I run. One time, I ran a lot on my 50th birthday.

Paul

zoom-zoom

rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 10/13/2008 at 11:03 AM

Oh, how many times did I start running, only to never stick with it...? No one told me that the first couple of miles always suck, so I never knew that things would get better. I would have been running 10+ years ago if only I'd known. Tongue

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

PowerOfQ

Think Whirled Peas

posted: 10/13/2008 at 11:07 AM

Are you starting out too fast? Maybe start out w/5-10 minutes of easy running then walk for a coupla minutes then get back into the running. Take a look at when you're eating relative to when you go out for a run too. Could be that you're low on energy from lack of food; or the reverse - you're eating too close to running. Other than that, I've got nothing. Just keep getting out there though, push through it. GOOD LUCK! Q

Just because running is simple does not mean it is easy.

Relentless. Forward. Motion. <repeat>

ArlaHile

Queen of 3rd Place

posted: 10/13/2008 at 11:10 AM

Yes, same here, now I just don't think about it, since it passes. Slow down even more for those first couple of miles; some people even start out walking. Another trick I've heard is to promise yourself that if you continue to feel awful after the first couple miles, you can go home. *shrug* Arla

Ex runner

theyapper

On the road again...

posted: 10/13/2008 at 11:33 AM

Thanks, guys. I've pretty much accepted the fact that some beginning portion of my runs won't "feel" great just because of the whole warm-up thing. I don't think I'm starting too fast most runs, although there have been some that I know I did. I'll pay more attention to what I'm eating/not eating close to a run. For now, I'll just keep pushing through it. I would like to know if it gets better, or is it just part of running that I just accept and don't waste time trying to figure out?

I write. I read. I run. One time, I ran a lot on my 50th birthday.

Paul

PowerOfQ

Think Whirled Peas

posted: 10/13/2008 at 11:39 AM

Yeah, it does get better. That's why you've gotta persevere on it. Honestly, not every day will be a great, or even good, run. But the more you run (and more often) it will get easier and easier to head out the door because those early crappy miles will become less and less of an issue. But it takes time and effort to get to that point. The trick is to start every run EASY. Like walking easy, and then work into your comfortable every day pace.

Just because running is simple does not mean it is easy.

Relentless. Forward. Motion. <repeat>

Teresadfp

One day at a time

posted: 10/13/2008 at 11:40 AM

It's still that way for me after two years, although I don't think it's bad as it used to be. Some days, though, the negative thoughts do start up and I wonder why a 46-year-old mom is out making a fool of herself! Big grin

But then I look at myself in the mirror when I get home and don't wonder anymore...

mikeymike

posted: 10/13/2008 at 11:43 AM

Yeah, the first two miles almost always suck. Sometimes more than 2 miles. I chalk it up to not being warmed up and just working the kinks out.

Runners run

mamaofthree

Best Present Ever

posted: 10/13/2008 at 11:44 AM

I dislike the first few miles of most runs. Sometimes those miles are unremarkable, sometimes I'm actively unhappy, but those miles are never good. It's not really a pace issue as I usually run a pretty even pace. It's more a psychological thing, I think. Or maybe physiological issue at the endorphin level? When folks tell me that they only run 3 miles a few times a week and that they would never run more because they really don't like running, I try to persuade them that it's because they don't run enough to get to the fun part. People usually respond that I'm clearly just insane, but y'all know it's true.

anutherfinemess

posted: 10/13/2008 at 12:09 PM

I'm with ya on this one, brother. The first 2k of every run I do is just awful. It doesn't matter what I eat, how much sleep I get, how much I stretch etc. I have reached the conclusion that some people are natural runners and for them it's rather easy to simply slip into their stride. It always takes me at least a kilometer or so to find my proper running form and until that time I look like a cross between an poorly made robot and a drunken baboon. Somewhere in that second k everything sort of falls into place and it's all good after that. What I have done is to simply build a 2k pre run into every run. I map my routes so that if I want to run say, 10k, I have 2k first that is just me hobbling along getting everything to work correctly. Once I get to that 2k mark I will stop, have a stretch, and then begin my proper 10k run. I don't even count the 2k in my log. It doesn't necessarily change anything, but it is great for my mindset as my times and paces have come down considerably now that I don't spend the first 2k of a run fumbling about. Plus no matter how awful that first k or so feels I know it's just 2k and I know that I will get everything right soon enough so I am not tempted to quit.

And who am I anyway?
Just another fat jogger, evidently.

brerfootbill

Half Fanatic #846

posted: 10/13/2008 at 12:31 PM

What really made a big difference for me, by putting me into my rythm fairly quickly: 1. Warming up first for about 15 min. (by walking 7-8 min., then EASY "jogging" for 7-8 min.). I don't count this as part of my run - it's roughly a one mile warm-up, total. 2. Promising myself that I'll run at least a mile (or 2); then if I want to quit after that, I can (I never have). Hope this helps! Smile

Bill

"I don't always roll a joint, but when I do, it's usually my ankle" - unk. "Frankly autocorrect, I'm getting a bit tired of your shirt". I ran half my last race on my left foot!

Save Cheevers

posted: 10/13/2008 at 12:31 PM

I read somewhere that the first 10-15 minutes of a run are the worst because your body hasn't shifted to its running mode and you are therefore fighting an oxygen starved state. Something like that. It all made sense and, of course, I have no recollection of where I read it. I swear I did though. Honest.

jingchunyu

posted: 10/13/2008 at 12:31 PM

I hate first half of my run regardless of the milage. I woudl lile to skip 1st half and directly go to second half

AroundTheHorn

posted: 10/13/2008 at 12:34 PM

The reason I hate my first 2 miles is because half of my runs are at the butt crack of dawn. Being asleep while running=for the loss

Roads, where we're going we don't need any....roads.

brerfootbill

Half Fanatic #846

posted: 10/13/2008 at 12:35 PM

Quote from jingchunyu on 10/13/2008 at 12:31 PM:

I hate first half of my run regardless of the milage. I woudl lile to skip 1st half and directly go to second half

Actually, I would always prefer the middle half and dispense with the first and last parts... Tongue

"I don't always roll a joint, but when I do, it's usually my ankle" - unk. "Frankly autocorrect, I'm getting a bit tired of your shirt". I ran half my last race on my left foot!

Why do I hate the first 2 miles of a run? (Read 922 times)