My challenges are a little unique. I (35M) have been running on and off for two months with the medium term aim of doing a 20 minute 5km. After my first month I was able to do 3km in under 12. I was an advanced runner in high school (practically gave it up since then due to injury), I've recently built a high aerobic base from regular cycling and I've been conditioning to fix some muscular issues through a range of resistance sessions.

So obviously I've got some baggage. But my problem is that I can't do the thing that everyone says one should do to ease into running - running slowly. As soon as I go slower than 4:20 pace (yes I've tried far slower too), my body feels completely off. My leg muscles start doing more work in certain ways, even my heart rate spikes. I've improved my technique, I've been working on my hip flexors, adductors and calves, and so far I've been able to rid myself of shin splints and feel more relaxed at 4min/km, but that's about it. All the muscles just south of my hips feel off and it makes me lose it pretty quickly.

I've seen a few physios but they all say that my muscles are doing alright (though they're not running specialists). I've been trying to push through the issues, but the only effective workouts I've been able to do have been effectively threshold runs between 3:55 and 4:10, pushing my distance ever so slightly each time. I still cycle often to cross train. My progress is a little encouraging but I'm enjoying it far less than I'd like and I don't want to injure myself.

tl;dr: my starring fitness is high but my body isn't letting me run slowly so the only gains I can make are doing threshold runs

Has anyone had similar issues? Any insights you care to share?

I am in the week 1 of couchto5k program and have bever run before.

I want to start 75 hard as well, which involves sticking to one diet, and I feel like a high protein diet would be good for me to lose fat which I have a lot of. But I worry if that will affect my progress in my running program.

Hello, this is my longest and fastest 10k ever but strava is not counting as my best effort 10k. What could be causing this.

These things are dorky af, it would take some strong arguments to convince me wear something like this.
So I ask, what are they all about? I’ve been wearing my normal sunglasses so far on my running journey, they don’t move around or fall off as I run. So why would anyone willingly wear these hideous things?

Sooo happy. I sprained my ankle six weeks ago (it’s still a little swollen), and have been suiting up once a week for the past three weeks to test things out. Today was the first time I could go more than a minute without a rapid buildup of discomfort. Didn’t have to turn around and walk home! Hopefully it doesn’t blow up like a balloon later today, but everything looks ok RN.

From the looks of it, it seems like I’m not running tall enough. Also, it looks like heel striking, but I slowed the video down and zoomed in, and I was actually landing on my midfoot. Still, I’m open to criticism. First time getting someone to record my running.

Please give me your best recommendations for running headphones! I want something that’s open ear for when I’m running alone. Right now I just use my AirPods and put in only one ear. I’d prefer something that doesn’t go around my head so I don’t have to worry about my hair. I also will mention I have a daith piercing on one ear so bonus points if anything works with that!

So I’ve already signed up for a big event 5k run on December 12 but I found another race on November 21st that I wanna sign up for but I’m stuck between choosing the 3k distance or the 5k distance on that day.
I’m still quite new at this, I’ve been running 2 times a week, sometimes 2 outdoor and 1 treadmill run a week, and I’ve so far managed 1km straight running without having to walk.
My first ever official run will be the 5k on December 12th where I’ve set myself a target time, the November run is just gonna be for fun but idk which distance to pick.
Help would be appreciated greatly!

So i’m 28, been pretty active most of my life. Been doing a mix of weight training, yoga, rock climbing, cardio (kettle bells, exercycle, elliptical etc) and hiking 4-6x a week since highschool. I’m also a bigger runner at 6ft 200lbs, but pretty lean and have dropped 15 pounds since May. In highschool I was a sprinter in track, and also did wrestling and football. I did a lotttt of sprints but never ran more than a mile or two in one go.

This summer I got really into running for the first time since highschool and I definitely felt it in my legs. I followed a very conservative running plan from May-September, eventually running my first ever half marathon. I feel like I did most things right, always listened to my body, did a lot of PT and injury prevention exercises, kept up on strength training for my legs but the lower leg pain never fully went away.

After taking a 2 week break i’m gently trying to ease into another training cycle to bring my times down and my shins are more sore than my summer training block. It’s never anything debilitating or super painful, worst it ever gets is a 2-3 out of 10, but it’s just so annoying to deal with.

For any experienced runners out there, does the leg pain or discomfort during a training block ever really go away? I definitely feel it more after sprint/interval days and have had to skip a couple long runs already. My sleep, nutrition, weight training, PT, yoga etc have all been very consistent and good. It’s just extremely frustrating thinking about having to push back this block by a few weeks and try again.

2 Half Marathons
2 5K Races, 1 more to come Halloween day
1 6K Trail Run
5K runs daily today being day 87 straight!
It’s been an amazing few months but October being such a big month I’ve pushed myself very hard and I love it!

Started at 36 a little more than half a year ago and couldnt keep up a 3min run/walk split I finally got out of the red and being able to sustain a 3:30run/3:00walk split.

I think i ramped up too much too fast though because my legs have been beat and getting some shinsplints after runs but ill chalk that up to being hyped.

Pretty proud. Bought a pair of new running shoes to celebrate (Nike Vomero Plus).

Training to get to a half marathon by the end of the year. Wish me luck!

Been lurking here for a while but finally have something to post haha

Started running consistently back in July and could barely run for 3 minutes before needing a walking break. Just managed 7.08 km nonstop in 50:41 and honestly feeling pretty damn happy about it

About a month or two into running I bought the Adidas Adizero Evo SL and they felt like a complete game changer for me. Didn’t expect shoes to make that much of a difference

Going from those little intervals to running for 50 minutes straight has been so satisfying. But I ain’t stopping here, next goal is 10k by the end of December

My watch recorded an average of 186 bpm so I’m planning to slow things down quite a bit and work on running at an easier effort while building up the distance

Would love any advice from people who’ve been here before. Been reading everyone else’s posts for months, so figured I’d finally share mine :)

i enjoy running once i'm actually outside, but getting myself out the door is the hardest part. some days i keep putting it off until i end up skipping the run completely. i don't want to rely on motivation because it obviously comes and goes. what habits helped you stay consistent when you were just starting out?

Hi! I am 35f and am curious if you have advice on how I can make my runs more comfortable. I’ve lost almost 75 pounds in the past few years. Currently 5’4, 170 lbs and blessed with a chest (DD/DDD). I had spinal fusion 20 years ago so I have rods along almost my full spine. I have found that compression sports bras really help and if I don’t wear something with enough support/compression my back is so unhappy with me.

I’m curious if anyone has suggestions on items that may help make my runs less uncomfortable.

Thank you!

Ran with a friend that regularly does half marathons. His conversational pace is around 9:50 but he was happy to stay at my pace. He’s been a great motivator for me these past few months.

I ran my first half marathon 9 years ago when I was 31. I don’t recall too much about it, but ran it around 2 hours 10, after training a fair amount. Following that, I drifted away from running.

Last year, approaching 40, I decided to run again, entering a half marathon. I started building up miles and embarked on a 16-week training plan leading into the race. I didn’t know what I was doing.

I misinterpreted ‘easy’ runs as that they should feel easy at a good pace. So I ran them at a steady pace for me and always tried to finish fast. I was always disappointed by the times. I had no energy to do intervals (presumably because I didn’t do any easy miles).

When I got to the longer training runs I’d be exhausted, but I thought that’s what I was meant to feel like. I did 16km (longest training run) going at about 6:20min per km. I tapered (following the plan) and actually did an ‘easy’ 10km the week prior to the race. I felt amazing going slower and it suddenly clicked what I should’ve been doing. A quick google later and it all made sense.

During the race itself, I ran very consistent splits to finish in 2 hours 15. Each 5km time was almost identical. I was hoping to be able to run the last 5km faster but my legs were sore, presumably as I hadn’t accumulated any easy miles. Nearly every training run had been at the same pace, I couldn’t accelerate to finish faster.

I’ve entered next year’s race, and have started doing actual easy runs. It’s amazing to finish a long run and not feel exhausted. I’m doing intervals with the intention of improving 5km and 10km times along the way.

My plan is this: do an 8 week block now to set a 10km time and learn to run faster (sensibly). Then tick along in winter/early spring to accumulate easy miles and make 10-15km runs common. So when I start next year’s half marathon training block I’ll be starting in the right place. If all goes to plan I think sub 2 hours might be possible. Am I deluded? Does the plan make sense?

I’ve struggled with weight my whole life, and had periods where I get sort of into running for a few months, then kinda fall off.

In the last year, I’ve started more aggressive strength training, and have been working with a trainer to positive results. One of the things she’d had me spend a lot of time on is understanding the mind/body connection. More than just “move heavy thing up”, I’ve gotten a lot of help from really feeling the motion of my muscle groups as they do work.

It’s made me wonder about how my muscles really act during a run. Is there better guidance on what I should be actively feeling out during a run? Part of me wants to just go back to square one and redo the couch to 5k, but with a more mindful focus than just putting in music to zone out and keep one foot in front of the other.

Any thoughts?