Getting over the mental block

[wvjules]

I really thought I'd be further along than I am by now. However, here I am still not where I want to be. I really, really do want to love running. I got the shoes, the clothes, the goal (WDW 1/2) but I still quit running when my legs get sore/tired and walk until the feel better, then run again...wash, rinse, repeat. How do I overcome the "pain" and just run? Running really is as much mental as it is physical. It pisses me off that I walk when I should be running. It pisses me off that I can't do this yet. It pisses me off that I feel this way. I need to channel this anger/frustration into running better, longer, stronger.

 

[lolakat]

I'm a new runner too and by no means and expert but from what I've been reading run/walk intervals are actually a great way to train for new runners. What training program are you following? The the Galloway program and the Marathons for Mortals book all support using intervals of running and walking. Eventually you will run more than you walk but that may take some time. I personally am doing the C25K program then I plan to follow the Galloway 1/2 marathon program to get to the 1/2 maraton in January. Both programs use a ratio of walking and running to build endurance. Many say your overall speed is better too when you incooperates some walking in the correct manner.

Try not to be so hard on yourself. You are up and moving and that is half the battle. The speed and the edurance will come with proper training and some time. If you try to push too hard you'll get and injury which will set you back further.

Best of luck in your training.

 

[lisah0711]

I really thought I'd be further along than I am by now. However, here I am still not where I want to be. I really, really do want to love running. I got the shoes, the clothes, the goal (WDW 1/2) but I still quit running when my legs get sore/tired and walk until the feel better, then run again...wash, rinse, repeat. How do I overcome the "pain" and just run? Running really is as much mental as it is physical. It pisses me off that I walk when I should be running. It pisses me off that I can't do this yet. It pisses me off that I feel this way. I need to channel this anger/frustration into running better, longer, stronger.

It's a bummer when you aren't where you want to be. I'm a new runner this year so maybe I should just MYOB but is there any reason that you can't do what you want -- the WDW 1/2 -- by running and walking since that is what it sounds like works for your body?

When I started the C25K I weighed well over 200 pounds and was pushing 50. I just can't run and run and run. It hurts too much while I am doing it and for days afterwards. But I can do run/walk intervals. I do 3/2 now and my training plan (Bingham Marathoning for Mortals) will put me at a 4/1 for the Princess.

You may want to speak with your doctor about the issues that you are having with pain.

As you get used to running you will have the rest of your life to work on things like increasing your speed and your distance. And if it turns out that you just don't like it, well you tried and it sounds like you are giving it your
all. Try and take time to enjoy the journey!

Good luck and I'm sorry that you are frustrated!

 

[wvjules]

I did the c25k and somehow managed to complete that. I've gone backwards since then. Its not really pain. Its just fatigue and and tightness in my calves. I will walk (actually jog really slowly) for a minute to work it out then start running again. I know I can push past it but I can't! lol Once I get that past that barrier I know I will be fine. *crossing fingers*

Maybe I should concentrate on the walk/run method for now and work up to just running. Hopefully that won't be so frustrating.

Oh, I did start a fitness boot camp on Monday and I have parts of my body hurting that I didn't know existed. My quads are killing me. I think that might be why I had such a bad run yesterday.

Ha, ya know what? I just realized that I'm basing this post and the OP on 2 runs! One yesterday after first day of boot camp and one the week before. I guess its not a regular thing but I still feel like I shouldn't be having these "failure" runs anymore. Its also the first time I'm running based on distance and not time. I think running time is much easier. lol

I'm taking a break from running tonight - yay for rest days. But DBF didnt' run last night so I will to go the park with him. I might do some speed drills around the pond with no pressure on distance or time. Just to do it to do it.

 

[cewait]

One of my favorite running quotes comes from the late Dr. Sheehan…

"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit." You are suffering from a normal feeling. You may be fatigued from the start of boot camp, a change in weather, or any number of issues.

I would counsel run/walking as a first time half marathoner. No, it is not cheating or ‘not running’ to take a programmed walk break every so often. If you start to head down the r/w aisle just make sure to start the r/w interval from the get go. Waiting until you need to walk is a VICOTRY for the ‘I need a walk” demons in the mind.

I was a colleague of Coach Troy for a while and we had several mental toughness drills we would perform in an effort to learn how to push through those nasty little demons. I am also a big subscriber to one of his thoughts. On those days where you just do not feel like heading out to train, push through the first 15 minutes of the run, ride or swim. If you still feel like you do not want to continue bag the training session then, not before. Chances are extremely high that once you hit 15 minutes into a workout you will make the end.

Oh, you have already subscribed to another one of my favorite Sheehan quotes….”The difference between a jogger and a runner is the entry blank.”

Hang in there. A sense of urgency will soon swell upon you and you will be on the road in no time.

 

[wvjules]

One of my favorite running quotes comes from the late Dr. Sheehan…

"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit." You are suffering from a normal feeling. You may be fatigued from the start of boot camp, a change in weather, or any number of issues.

I would counsel run/walking as a first time half marathoner. No, it is not cheating or ‘not running’ to take a programmed walk break every so often. If you start to head down the r/w aisle just make sure to start the r/w interval from the get go. Waiting until you need to walk is a VICOTRY for the ‘I need a walk” demons in the mind.

I was a colleague of Coach Troy for a while and we had several mental toughness drills we would perform in an effort to learn how to push through those nasty little demons. I am also a big subscriber to one of his thoughts. On those days where you just do not feel like heading out to train, push through the first 15 minutes of the run, ride or swim. If you still feel like you do not want to continue bag the training session then, not before. Chances are extremely high that once you hit 15 minutes into a workout you will make the end.

Oh, you have already subscribed to another one of my favorite Sheehan quotes….”The difference between a jogger and a runner is the entry blank.”

Hang in there. A sense of urgency will soon swell upon you and you will be on the road in no time.

I was reading some advice of yours yesterday to someone on the Events sub-board. This thread. You are a very wise man.

I have decided to go with the Galloway method of training/running. I think the shorter bursts of running might be exactly what I need. I just need to figure out the intervals. I was leaning towards the 4:1 or maybe even a 3:1. I am going to give that a try tonight and see how it goes.

I didn't do any running last night at all. My right leg towards the inside of the shin really hurts. I think it is from the "hopping" exercise in boot camp on Wednesday morning. It is still sore today but I will Bio-freeze it before I head out. If the pain doesn't subside or gets worse I will stop for the day to give it a rest. I think another part of my problem is that on boot camp days we do a 10 minute warm up run. I'm slow, really slow. But I try to keep up with the others and I think that is pusing me too hard. I want to push harder but I think that is making me overdo it. I need to stick with my pace for now.

Tonight is the trial of Galloway. Wish me luck.

Oh, one more question. He uses minutes during the week and miles for the long run. I was thinking of sticking with miles from another plan but doing the r/w of Galloway. Thoughts? Is Galloway all or none or modifiable?

 

[cewait]

Actually, all plans are modifiable. The best advice I can give for plan selection is to look at your life and overlay the commitments of various training plans. Pick the one closest to you and your lifestyle.

I find that running times rather than miles works better for most midweek runs. I would rather head out the door or on the treadmill knowing I was running so many hill or speed intervals rather than trying to equate that with a distance. But in answer to your question, distances will work as well as times

 

[plutogal]

I feel your pain, I've been running for over a year now and although my speed has picked up some I still can't drag myself out for a short run.

My advice, is to meet up with some people, the social aspect can hold you responsible and be a fun way to forget about the time. Have you heard of Runningoftheears.com? It is a great community of Disney (and other types) of runners.

Also, if you are interested, there is a group of us that meet at the BWI loop on Saturday's for long runs. I know it would be a distance from Frederick but it might be worth it sometimes. If you are interested PM me and I can give you more details about it! We love having new people join us!!

 

[lindybug]

Agreeing with the previous posters about the run/walk.

ps: Totally off topic, but I see you're from Frederick. Me too!

 

[wvjules]

Ok I so I have done the r/w twice. First time I did 3:1. Last night I did 1:1. Much more managable. I am going to do 1:1 for two weeks then go to 2:1 then to 3:1 etc until I think I'm at the pace I want to be at on Jan 8.

Last night was a 2 miler and my average pace was 14:55. My running hovers around 11:30-12:00. My walking pace is 17:00 and higher. When I walk, I really walk. lol I need to try to maintain the running pace for now and increase my walking pace. I think I run faster when I only have to run for a minute at a time.

BTW, when do all of my body parts get the message that I'm doing something good? I can't remember the last time some part of me wasn't sore. I'm using a styrofoam roller to work on my knot in my shin. Its still there but managable.

DD ran a 5K over the weekend at ended at 33:06. Yay DD!

 

[johde]

Sounds like you're on the right track. I'm currently a walk/runner finishing training for my 2nd half on October 17th. I don't know if the pains every completely stop, for me they just seem to move. First it was the shins, then I got blisters on the bottom of my feet, now, I'm mostly over knee discomfort. As long as the remain in the realm of discomfort and not pain it should pass as you get stronger. You might try icing the area immediately after your workout then switch to heat later on.
I'm currently average about a 12:00 min mile run , a 15:45 min mile walk. and average about a 14:30 on my speed days. For a few weeks, I took 1 workout and focused on running speed and 1 workout where I focused on walking speed keeping the other one easy.

If you haven't decided on a plan yet, you might want to look at "marathoning for mortal" by John Bingham. I'm currently using his walk/run plan. He also has a run/walk plan that might work well for you.

 

[John VN]

I have taken a Chi Walking approach in my endeavour to complete the second segment of the W&D 1/2M, the Space Coast 1/2M and a Dopey in January. At 60yo my knees do not allow for running.

This might sound strange but once I shift into the Chi mode of walking I can feel a tremendous difference in how my body is functioning.

While staying at FW 2 weeks ago I went for an early, 3:00AM walk. After a 5 minute warm up at a 18m/m pace I shifted into my Chi posture and walked the 8.3 miles I will be doing at the W&D 1/2M. My Garmin 305 recorded 1 mile laps ranging from 10:10m/m to 10:58m/m.

I did try a Chi Running style trial run about 2 months ago and even though I was able to get into a low 8:00m/m pace for 3 miles my legs and knees let me know that the walking style is the way I have to attack these events.

I am very comfortable with the fact that I do not run especially since I seem to be suffering no injuries what so ever.

My mental block was that I wanted to run yet things were not going my way when I first tried 2 years ago so I tried something different and it has worked for me.

Good luck with your approach and stay positive.

 

[wvjules]

I do believe I am over my current mental block. My knotted shin muscle is feeling much better and I think the best thing...I bought a Nike+. I love, love, love that thing. I like getting out there with it on knowing that at the push of a button I will know my speed, distance and time.

I'm also getting more used to boot camp. Although it kicks my *** most mornings it definately is working for me. A lap of lunges though was extremely difficult!

I have the Chi Running book but never did finish it. I should probably get back to it. Chi walk/shuffle and running. That's the ticket.

Was supposed to run last night but an argument with DD kinda spoiled my mood so her and I are going out tonight instead. I will watch her run off in the distance. lol

ETA: Another thing that I think helped me...deciding to do run/walk instead of just running. It seems way more managable that way and where I was doubting myself before, I am confident now. Maybe I'll be up to a run eventually but for now I'm content finishing races which is something I NEVER thought I would do.

 

[John VN]

......Maybe I'll be up to a run eventually but for now I'm content finishing races which is something I NEVER thought I would do.

BTW, may the Chi force be with you.

 

[MamaCrush]

One of my favorite running quotes comes from the late Dr. Sheehan…

"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit." You are suffering from a normal feeling. You may be fatigued from the start of boot camp, a change in weather, or any number of issues.

I would counsel run/walking as a first time half marathoner. No, it is not cheating or ‘not running’ to take a programmed walk break every so often. If you start to head down the r/w aisle just make sure to start the r/w interval from the get go. Waiting until you need to walk is a VICOTRY for the ‘I need a walk” demons in the mind.

I was a colleague of Coach Troy for a while and we had several mental toughness drills we would perform in an effort to learn how to push through those nasty little demons. I am also a big subscriber to one of his thoughts. On those days where you just do not feel like heading out to train, push through the first 15 minutes of the run, ride or swim. If you still feel like you do not want to continue bag the training session then, not before. Chances are extremely high that once you hit 15 minutes into a workout you will make the end.

Oh, you have already subscribed to another one of my favorite Sheehan quotes….”The difference between a jogger and a runner is the entry blank.”

Hang in there. A sense of urgency will soon swell upon you and you will be on the road in no time.

Gosh, Coach, that is exactly what I needed to hear right now. Thank you so much.

 

[crewmatt]

cewait, I personally have to say I love most of your posts. Just had to add that 2 cents

OP: Here's the thing, running can be as easy as you want to make it. Sometimes the best advice I can give to a new runner -and by sometimes I mean 90% - (and I know they NEVER want to hear it) is slow down. Endurance first, speed second. You want to make running feel easy, you cant accomplish this by always running hard. Different workouts have different goals. Long runs that you're doing to get ready for your first half marathon are all about building the endurance, distance. The best way to do this is to do it at a pace where you can still talk. Any faster and you're forcing yourself to use your anaerobic system, which will lead to the peaks and troughs you're currently experiencing.

Even as an experienced runner, some days I'll be running thinking that I'm just cruising, and all of a sudden I'm running next to someone at close to my race pace. On other days I'm just falling apart.

 

[saysay]

One of my favorite running quotes comes from the late Dr. Sheehan…

"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit." You are suffering from a normal feeling. You may be fatigued from the start of boot camp, a change in weather, or any number of issues.

I would counsel run/walking as a first time half marathoner. No, it is not cheating or ‘not running’ to take a programmed walk break every so often. If you start to head down the r/w aisle just make sure to start the r/w interval from the get go. Waiting until you need to walk is a VICOTRY for the ‘I need a walk” demons in the mind.

I was a colleague of Coach Troy for a while and we had several mental toughness drills we would perform in an effort to learn how to push through those nasty little demons. I am also a big subscriber to one of his thoughts. On those days where you just do not feel like heading out to train, push through the first 15 minutes of the run, ride or swim. If you still feel like you do not want to continue bag the training session then, not before. Chances are extremely high that once you hit 15 minutes into a workout you will make the end.

Oh, you have already subscribed to another one of my favorite Sheehan quotes….”The difference between a jogger and a runner is the entry blank.”

Hang in there. A sense of urgency will soon swell upon you and you will be on the road in no time.

Thanks for this!

 

[MouseDogMom]

Ok I so I have done the r/w twice. First time I did 3:1. Last night I did 1:1. Much more managable. I am going to do 1:1 for two weeks then go to 2:1 then to 3:1 etc until I think I'm at the pace I want to be at on Jan 8.

Last night was a 2 miler and my average pace was 14:55. My running hovers around 11:30-12:00. My walking pace is 17:00 and higher. When I walk, I really walk. lol I need to try to maintain the running pace for now and increase my walking pace. I think I run faster when I only have to run for a minute at a time.

BTW, when do all of my body parts get the message that I'm doing something good? I can't remember the last time some part of me wasn't sore. I'm using a styrofoam roller to work on my knot in my shin. Its still there but managable.

DD ran a 5K over the weekend at ended at 33:06. Yay DD!

Just stumbled across this thread... I'm a member of a local Galloway running group, and have been running with the group for 4 years now. A couple of suggestions: don't worry too much about increasing the intervals. If you're comfortable with 1:1 or 2:1, stick with it. Jeff Galloway is now doing all of his marathons with either a 1:1 or even a :30/:30. You can increase your running speed within the run portion and get faster that way, and will find that to be more effective than running for longer intervals. You've already mostly figured this out by seeing how much faster you are with the 1:1!

Also, don't push the speed on your walk breaks. We were discussing that this morning on our run. You don't actually gain that much time in your total race, and you don't recover from your run intervals enough to make it worth it. Last year during a marathon, a group of us thought we'd help our time if we walked briskly during our walk breaks, and about mile 13 we "re-evaluated" our strategy and slowed down when we realized that we were getting a lot more tired than we usually did on our long runs. Obviously, you don't want to crawl, but don't push yourself too much!

As for when your body gets the message... um, I haven't gotten there yet.

And congratulations to DD!

Jackie

 

[ZOOMAMA]

Just wanted to say Hola! to a fellow Frederick runner! Give a shout out sometime if you are running Baker Park on the weekend. I'll be the blonde in the red Nike running hat, breathing loudly and waiting for my husband to lap me again so I can shoot daggers at his back!

 

[wvjules]

Just wanted to say Hola! to a fellow Frederick runner! Give a shout out sometime if you are running Baker Park on the weekend. I'll be the blonde in the red Nike running hat, breathing loudly and waiting for my husband to lap me again so I can shoot daggers at his back!

I was there yesterday around 2pm. DBF and I run there together but we only see each other at the end so I know how you feel. I wear a black/white Adidas visor.

I did 3.1 miles yesterday. My longest run to date. I wanted to have a time below 45:00 and I did...barely! I was so happy I could cry.

I'm getting there, slowly but surely, but I AM GETTING THERE!